Following the Stars
by Jmags-WriterofAwesomeness
Summary: Sikowitz gives the gang a challenge- they have to read their horoscopes one day each week and follow exactly what each one says. Sikowitz sits on a cupcake, Andre gets wonky (what else is new?)... and Jade tries to get over Beck? What could possibly happen next? First chapter is an A/N. Contains Bade/Cabbie/Tandre. Rated T, borderline M for certain chapters.
1. Chapter 1

_Hey everyone… I know you were all expecting a new story when you first clicked on this, but to be truthful, I haven't even started writing it yet. I will soon, though. Once I'm done all of my summer work (AP Chemistry packet and college essays), I'll start writing this story. I just wanted to leave this author's note because of the sad news- there's only 15 episodes left of Victorious. In less than a year, our show that we have grown to love is going to end._

_I'm still in shock from the whole thing. I can't believe that Nickelodeon would have the stupidity of cancelling one of the most popular shows on Nick along with iCarly. Victorious won the KCA's and got nominated for 3 Emmy awards… yet it was cancelled. Whereas pointless shows such as Fred and How To Rock are allowed to still exist. I know it was because of the 60 episode limit rule, but still… it doesn't make sense to me!_

_I feel so bad for the cast and Dan as well- they didn't know that Victorious was going to be cancelled. They didn't get to say a proper goodbye to the show and each other, and I doubt that the show is going to get a proper finale because the cancellation wasn't even expected to happen. It breaks my heart to think that the cast won't be together and having a good time and filming Victorious again. Nevertheless, I hope they have great careers in the future and move on to big things._

_I never thought that I would say this, but I'm really messed up about this. I was listening to my iPod in the car today and some songs came up that reminded me of Victorious and I just started bawling. August has just been a really bad month for me so far. I've been feeling bad about myself lately. First off, my one boss screwed up my hours at my one job and told me I wouldn't be able to work again until September. Then, my boss at my other job then told me I was learning things too slowly and I might have to move to a different job (and even a girl that is my school's "slut" can do the job better than I can!). After that, my guidance counselor emailed me and now I can't take one of the classes I wanted to take- and I have three AP classes in my first semester alone. Now, Victorious is ending. Great. Just the icing on my depressing cake._

_Victorious made me feel like a kid again. It gave me something to obsess about when I was feeling down and needed a distraction. I write about Victorious to escape my overprotective parents and distract myself from my self-deprecating thoughts. And now that it's done… I don't know what to do with my overactive mind. I will be getting my driver's license soon. I will be applying to colleges soon. And I will have 4 AP classes and two jobs on my hands- which means that I will have little to no time to write or watch TV anyway._

_I feel like I'm growing up too fast. I'm eventually going to have to give up my fanfiction (or at least take a long, long break from it) and my Wikia account (for the Victorious wiki) because I see no point in having those things anymore. Victorious taught me that you can love something really strongly if you can relate to it and use it to escape your own life. It taught me that I don't have to be ashamed to like a kid's show even though I'm almost a senior in high school. It taught me that people can love you despite all your flaws and all your little quirks that make you you. It taught me that some forms of life are pure and not filled with drugs, sex, and violence._

_Once Victorious ends, I'm giving up Nickelodeon and Disney for good. I'm going to leave my made-up, pure world where the mature things don't exist and enter our messed-up, perverted society- and that makes me tear whenever I think about it. I don't want to grow up just yet; but it looks like I'm going to be forced to anyway. All of these things combined are making me really depressed, and I'm sorry that this author's note is so sad. I didn't mean for it to be- I just to get my feelings out before they make my head explode because no one else but you guys understand._

_I just wanted to say thanks to Dan for making me believe in the good, young-spirited things in life. I want to thank the cast of Victorious for their acting and commitment to the show and my wikia friends for treating me so nicely- it's like they're my second family. And I want to say thanks for reading my stories. They are a labor of love and hard work, truthfully. I spend an incredibly long time writing these stories in order to make sure everything's perfect. Thank you for being my loyal followers and your reviews make me smile every time I receive a new one. I promise you I will have about 1-2 more stories up here before Victorious ends and my "real life" begins._

_Well, I'll conclude this depressing A/N on a bright note: I have a new poll up for this story. The choice that won the first poll was that "Following the Stars" will be focused on one couple's plot with other subplots revolving around two other potential "couples." Now, I'm letting you all vote on which couples I will make happen in the story. _

_Here's the warning about this, though: You guys know which ships I obviously ship now. If you vote for those couples, I guarantee that you'll get a well-written story. However, there may be a chance that you may not get a very interesting story because I've written about these couples many times before._

_On the flip side of things, if you vote for couples that I don't necessarily ship or write about on a daily basis, I guarantee you a UNIQUE story, probably something you've never seen or heard of before. Then again, since I don't ship these couples, it may not be well-written. So pick your poison- a well-written but potentially boring story, or a unique but potentially train wreck story. It's up to you at this point._

_So we're almost at the shore, so I gotta go now. Hopefully I'll have the first chapter of this story up by the end of August._

_Peace out and enjoy the last episodes of Victorious while they last._


	2. The Assignment

_Omg, guess what guys? FIRST CHAPTER IS UP! YAHOO! I actually had time to write it! ...Well, in Creative Writing class and at 2 am today, so to speak. This is just a neutral chapter that gives the background of the story. There are friendship moments, but no romance yet. That is still to be decided... which reminds me. LAST CALL TO VOTE! You can vote both on here on my profile page and the Victorious wiki (look up my username, Jjmags1611, and go to the blog "2nd Fanfiction poll for new story- COUPLES!"). The voting will end when I acquire time to write the next chapter. Happy reading!_

* * *

"Man, why is that hippie always late for class?" Rex whined as the late bell echoed throughout the classroom. "We were supposed to start ten minutes ago and I already have to wazz!"

Robbie sighed. "Why didn't you just go before class like I told you to before?"

"You're not the boss of me! I will wazz when I want to, and I need to wazz _now_!"

Jade, clearly frustrated with the loud argument going on from the opposite side of the room, stood up abruptly from her chair and proceeded to grab the puppet off of Robbie's hand and throw him into the nearest trash can. "There's a bucket. Enjoy your wazz!" she yelled and huffed back to her seat.

"Jade!" Robbie protested.

"Robbie!" Jade mimicked him with a high-pitched voice.

"Geez Jade, you're a lot meaner than usual today," Tori commented, observing the scene with attentive eyes. "What's going on?"

"Why should I tell _you_, of all people, my problems?" Jade snarled.

Tori gave her a pleading look, and Jade gave in with an irritated groan. "Fine, I had another argument with my dad and it really pissed me off. Happy now?"

"What was the argument about?"

"None of your beeswax!"

Tori put her hands up in defeat and slouched back in her chair. Robbie, who was sitting to Tori's right, fiddled with his now-empty hands and Andre sat behind them examining something on the back of Tori's chair. "Cat, is that your bibble-flavored gum on the back of Tori's chair?" He pointed to a splatter of pink spread across the yellow plastic head of the chair.

Cat bounced over from her place next to Beck on the opposite side of the room and looked at the chewed-up gum. "Oh my gosh, it's still there!" she exclaimed. "Yay!"

Andre gave her a weird look. "Why did you put it there?"

"So someone else can find it and chew it! Duh!" She giggled and patted his shoulder playfully, then skipped back to her seat.

The room regressed into silence (as it usually did when Cat made a random or confusing comment) until Beck spoke up. "Does anyone know where Sikowitz is?" He glanced down at his watch. "He's now twenty minutes late."

"Haha, that's so funny!" Cat laughed. "I love the number twenty! I once read a story about a woman that had twenty cats, but she died old and alone at the end. So then I started to cry and then my brother-"

"Just find Sikowitz and get me out of this janked-up bucket!" a muffled voice shouted, interrupting Cat mid-sentence.

While Robbie reluctantly got up and pulled Rex out of the trash can, a devious tint twinkled in Jade's eyes. "I bet five bucks that he's having another one of his hallucinations again from those stupid coconuts."

"No way, he's probably down the hall talking to Helen about the new play he's directing," Andre objected. "I heard that we may be doing a rewrite of _Pocahontas _for our end-of-semester project this year."

"Nah, I bet he's at the store doing groceries for his mother again," Beck chuckled.

"Uh-uh, he did that yesterday!" Robbie protested. "He must be at the male-makeup store. I gave him a free coupon yesterday for a free dandruff shampoo with every purchase and he got so excited about it!"

"But only hairy people can have dandruff! Sikowitz is bald!" Cat grinned widely and pushed her tongue against her teeth. "I think he's sitting on a red velvet cupcake and giving money to hobos!"

"How can you sit on… Oh, never mind," Tori sighed. "Fine, I'll bet that he's dressed up as a giant lobster tackling people in the hallway."

"Why a giant lobster?" Beck asked.

"Remember on April Fool's day, a giant lobster kept tackling me during that game show we played?"

Everyone stared at her blankly. Tori groaned. "How do _none_ of you remember that day? It was the weirdest day ever!"

"Tsk tsk," Robbie scolded her. He lifted her chin gently with his index finger, as if he was talking to a five year old, and gave her an amused smile. "Oh, my naïve little Tori. Nothing weird ever happens here at Hollywood Arts."

As soon as she was about to slap Robbie's hand away, Sikowitz dived through the open window and rolled up to his feet in a ninja-like stance. "Give me my wallet back!" he shouted to no one in particular.

"Ya snooze, ya lose, hippie!" a gravelly voice shouted from outside, and the gang could faintly hear footsteps pounding away from the school.

"Sikowitz!" Tori exclaimed. "Where have you been?"

"Oh! Am I late?" he exclaimed. "Good Ghandi, why do I always keep losing track of time?!"

"Why are you late?" Jade questioned him.

"And who was that guy outside?" Beck fired at him soon after.

"That hobo stole all my money after I went to a fundraiser for a 'Feed the Homeless' program! We sat on beanbags and gave money to homeless people as they walked by. Ah, you should've seen the smiles on their faces. They were like coyotes gathering around a fresh meal…" A wistful look came upon Sikowitz's face as he drifted off in his thoughts.

"EARTH TO SIKOWITZ!" Jade yelled suddenly, causing him to stumble back in surprise.

"Oh, yes indeed! Thanks for the wake-up call, Jade." Jade shrugged nonchalantly and rolled her eyes.

"Oh, and Cat…" Sikowitz pulled a small, red beanbag out of his satchel and handed it to her. "The beanbag they gave me was shaped like a cupcake, so I thought you would like to have it."

"Eeeep, I won the bet!" Cat shouted gleefully and hugged the plush pillow to her chest. "When do I get my five bucks, Jadey?"

Everyone gawked at her, not believing that _Cat, _of all people, was the one to hit the teacher's whereabouts spot-on. "What… How…?" murmurs could be heard across the room.

"I'll give you the money when pigs fly, Cat," Jade snorted after recovering from the initial shock.

"Kk!"

Andre raised his hand. "So what are we doing today, Sikowitz?"

"Hmm… I don't know. What should we do today?"

"Ooh, can we do an improv scene?" Robbie asked. "I like doing those."

"Of course! Excellent! Jade, Cat, and Robbie, come up to the front, please!" Sikowitz said.

The three students walked up to the stage- well, unwillingly dragged herself to the stage, in Jade's case- and stood in a triangle-like formation. "Cat, you will be a woman who loves catching butterflies-"

"Oooh, they have pretty wings!" Cat clapped excitedly.

"Robbie, you will be a starving artist so desperate for inspiration that you're willing to paint anything. And Jade…"

"What?" she growled at him.

"You will be the artist's girlfriend that wants to be in all of his paintings."

"Ew, I have to be Robbie's girlfriend? Well, this day just keeps getting better and better," Jade muttered.

"I feel for you, baby," Rex chimed from Robbie's seat.

"Shut up, Rex!"

"And ACTION!" Sikowitz yelled.

Startled, they all jolted into action. "Why, hello there, fair maiden!" Robbie greeted Cat as he pretended to approach her. "Would you care to be my artistic model for an hour or two so I can use you as a muse?"

"Wait for it…" Cat stared at the wall intently and then pounced. "And… got it! Isn't he pretty?" She pretended to show the butterfly to Robbie. "I'm going to name him Buttercup!"

"Honey, I can be your buttercup!" Jade exclaimed, and the class laughed as Robbie brushed her off his shoulder.

"Baby, not now, I'm trying to paint a picture!" Robbie scolded her.

"But she doesn't want to do it! She's too busy catching butterflies!" Jade pointed at a busy Cat prancing around the stage and clawing at the air, as if she was really catching butterflies with her hands.

"Ah-hah! That's it!" Robbie pointed at the spectacle in front of them. "The perfect picture to paint! The youth of a young woman pouring out of her through her fascination of butterflies…" He quickly pulled up a chair and sat down. "I must get started on this immediately!"

Before he could start, his chair was pulled out from under him, and he tumbled to the floor. "Hey Picasso, paint a picture of me! Fun, sweet, drop-dead gorgeous…" She used the chair to demonstrate each characteristic of hers with a pose. "I've got it all!"

"Sweetie, I love you and everything, but don't you think I've painted enough pictures of you? They're all over your room; I can prove it!"

"Why don't you love me?!" Jade screamed and slapped Robbie in the face.

"Ow!" he cried and broke character. "Sikowitz, that really hurt!"

"And scene! Good job, kids. Back to your seats you go." Sikowitz took a sip of his coconut milk and grimaced. "I think this coconut is rotten."

"Why don't you throw it out?" Beck asked as Robbie and Jade returned to their seats and Cat continued to skip around the room in circles. It was like she was stuck in her own little world again.

"Because wasting coconuts is a horrible crime to commit," he replied seriously. "Okay, class dismissed!"

"But Sikowitz, we still have 45 minutes left of class," Andre commented, furrowing his eyebrows in confusion.

"Do we now? Interesting…" Sikowitz went to sit as his desk. "You are free to wander the halls, everyone!"

The students cheered and a sea of people burst through the door… except for Sikowitz's six (well, seven, if you count Rex) favorite students, whom he had called back to stay for a couple of minutes.

"Is there any way you can get your sister to join us as well, Tori?" His left eye twitched as he took another sip of his rotten coconut.

"Yeah, sure." Tori made a thinking face and then sent a speedy text off her PearPhone.

Within seconds, Trina burst through the store. "Oh my gosh, you met Josh Hutcherson? Where is he? I'm so on Team Peeta, Joshy!" she squealed.

Tori smacked her forehead with the palm of her hand, exasperated at her obsession with famous people. "Trina, I lied! He's not here in our classroom."

Trina looked mortified. "Oh… Well then why am I here with you losers?" she scoffed and sat down in a chair near Tori's seat.

Sikowitz leaned back in his chair and started tapping his fingers on the wooden desk. "I'm selecting you all to be guinea pigs in a new project I'm trying out. I'm thinking about giving this out as a final project next year for those who wish to graduate and obtain a theatre arts degree," the balding teacher said. "It would be worth 20% of your final grade and will be required in order to receive that type of degree, as well as earn credits for certain theater arts classes in college."

"Ooh, sounds interesting!" Jade said. "Oh wait, I don't care."

"Let him finish, Jade," Beck sighed with irritation.

"You're not the boss of me, Beck!"'

"Romeo! Juliet! Shush!" Sikowitz ordered. "Now, how would you kids like to do something… life-changing?"

The teenagers gave each other nervous glances. "Um… what exactly do you mean by that?" Trina piped up.

"Your assignment would be to read the horoscope corresponding to your birth date one day per week and follow exactly what it says for the duration of the day, no matter what outcomes may result from your decisions. You then must record everything that happened in a diary and turn it in to me by the end of the year."

"Horoscopes? I thought only old people read those," Cat said.

"Yeah, me too," the others chorused after her.

"No, they're not! People of all ages read them!" Sikowitz defended.

"So what's the point of doing this?" Tori questioned, changing the subject.

"Think of it as an acting exercise… except it's not acting a character- it's performing a certain task." His gaze focused on the boy with the curly afro and glasses. "For example… Robbie, would you ever not do your homework if I assigned it to you?"

Robbie squinted his eyes and tried to figure out what he was trying to say. "No, I always do my homework."

Jade fake coughed in her hand. "Nerd."

"Ignoring that," Robbie said crossly.

"But would you not do your homework if your horoscope told you to be rebellious and not be a goody two-shoes?"

A look of realization zipped across Robbie's face. "Maybe…"

"You see what I mean? In some cases, basing your decisions off of a horoscope is very much like acting- you're taking chances and doing things that you may not do otherwise. You may explore new interests; find yourself in wacky situations, whatever the stars have in store for you! But basically, the project is made to teach you a lesson about both acting and making your own decisions."

The gang exchanged looks and nodded in understanding. Sikowitz could be pretty kooky sometimes, but he definitely knew what he was talking about when it came to acting.

"Sounds reasonable," Beck agreed.

"So what do we get out of it if we become your 'test dummies'?" Jade said. The gang gave her annoyed looks. "What? It's true! We _are _test dummies in that sense?"

"Do you really have to be so negative all the time?" Tori complained.

"Silence!" Sikowitz said before the arguing could escalate into something bigger. "If you do this for me, you will not have to do it in your senior year before graduation and your credits will have already been fulfilled."

"Yay! More time for graduation parties! And cupcakes!" Cat chirped.

"Exactly! But the choice is ultimately yours, kids," Sikowitz said and took a sip of coconut milk. "Choose wisely."

They all huddled up and whispered to each other before coming to a unanimous decision. "Sure, we'll do it," Andre spoke for everyone. Why not get this chizz over with and spend the second half of senior year spending time with each other? The decision was a total no-brainer to their adventurous minds.

"Fabulous! Now here's the name of the app you have to install on your Pear products…" He gave them all a piece of paper including the app name and login password. "All you just have to do is type in your information and you'll be all set. Have a good day, everyone."

Everyone picked up their backpacks and got ready to leave until Tori's voice echoed from the opposite side of the room. "Sikowitz! What day are we going to be assigned to read horoscopes on?"

"Holy gravy, I almost forgot!" Sikowitz stopped in his tracks and dashed to the front of the stage to face everyone. "Tori, you will read yours on Tuesdays, Andre will have Fridays, Robbie- Saturdays, Cat- Sundays, Beck-Mondays, Jade- Wednesdays, and Trina- Thursdays." He smiled, clearly satisfied with how everything turned out. "I think that deserves a round of applause."

He bowed as everyone chuckled and clapped for him. "Now get out! I have work to do!"

They sauntered out of the classroom and stopped awkwardly in the middle of the hallway. "So what is today's date, exactly?" Robbie asked everyone.

Andre looked at his Pearphone. "Today is a Tuesday."

"Cool, so it looks like Jade will be the first one starting the horoscope project," Tori commented.

Jade scowled. "Yeah, whatever. I'm going to get some food."

She stormed off towards the Asphalt Café, not bothering to wait for the others. She gave off an aura that suggested she didn't care about the project- but in the back of her mind, she was thinking the exact same thing as Tori, Cat, Beck, Andre, Trina, and Robbie were- what the heck were they getting themselves into?

* * *

_So... whadaya think? Off to a good start so far? Sorry, this chapter was kinda strange cuz I have major writer's block right now._

_So Jade's horoscope is up first! That should be interesting... lol. Here's the order for the rest of the story starting Wednesday (in Victorious land):_

_Jade- __**Wednesdays  
**__Trina- __**Thursdays  
**__Andre- __**Fridays  
**__Robbie- __**Saturdays  
**__Cat- __**Sundays  
**__Beck- __**Mondays  
**__Tori- __**Tuesdays**_

_**(Note: The whole improv scene, the day the project was originally assigned, and the days the characters were assigned to read their horoscopes on were all completely random and thought off the top of my head)**_

_Please review and tell me what you think! And another thing... should I write about each horoscope_ _in first person (example: Jade's point of view on her horoscope experience) or write it from third person? In first person, you only read about the one person's thoughts, but in third person, it's a little different._

_Also, I included Trina in this because I wanted to use all 7 days of the week and there are only six main characters, really, if you don't count Trina._

_I won't beg for reviews, but they would be nice! Thanks so much for your patience and I'll update when I can! _


	3. Jade Moves On

_So… here's the moment everyone has been waiting for! The poll results! So I've combined the poll results I posted on the Victorious wiki and the poll results on this site and here are the numbers:_

_Bade: 21_

_Cabbie: 20_

_Tandre: 13_

_There you have it, folks! Your three couples that will be present in the story! And Bade (why am I not surprised?) will be the main focus of the story with Cabbie and Tandre in the background. Again, not surprised at the results because a lot of people ship these three together- me being a big offender of that as well. I was surprised that Cabbie almost beat Bade! I was thinking about waiting for more votes (so Cabbie could win lol), but I was so anxious to start the story that I ended the voting early. Thanks for the votes, guys!_

_So what I'm thinking of doing is making some scenes in first person of a character of my choosing and then doing other scenes in third person. Sound like a good idea? I think it is :)_

_So Jade is first, am I correct? Ah, I just read her personalized horoscope from . This is going to be VERY interesting… mwahahaha. Something tells me that Beck may not like what Jade's horoscope is telling her to do… ;D_

* * *

**Jade's POV**

_Ring ring ring_

"No Mom, I will not ride the giant, scary pony!" I moan in my sleep. I cover my ears with my pillow and snuggle under the covers, hoping that the ringing noise would stop.

_Ring ring ring_

Ugh. One of these days (or nights) I'll get lucky and hit the snooze button in my sleep.

Or the alarm clock will suddenly combust and erupt into flames. Yeah, I like that option better.

I force my eyelids to open and prop myself up on my elbow. I turn on the lamp on my bedside table and squeeze my eyes shut as the bright light hits my eyeballs. I slowly open them and squint to see the time on my old alarm clock. It blinks 6:45 with tiny, pulsating blue lights. Time to go to school. Whoopity flipping doo.

Someone just kill me now so I won't have to suffer through seven hours of classes today.

No, seriously, I hate school. With a burning passion. Of course, I think education is important and everything, don't get me wrong, but do people have to devote so much time towards it just to learn a bunch of crap that we won't ever remember again in the future? I think it's ridiculous, personally.

Besides, you can get everything online nowadays. You can order Chinese food from BFWangs's website, fruity soaps that smell like plastic from … so why not go to private school online instead of going to public school with the rest of the losers in the world?

Oh, right! Because parents want you to be "social" and "make new friends!"

Did I mention I hate my parents?

Okay, I obviously need my coffee soon or else I may just have to murder something. It's easy to see that I'm not a morning person. Mornings are the worst things ever besides ducks. The grass is always dewy and soaks your feet, and the birds chirping in the distance makes you feel like you're in the middle of one of these sickly sweet Disney movies.

By the way, Disney is for sticky, little kids and people who don't have a life. End of conversation.

I put on my favorite t-shirt (black with a big grey skull and bones on it) and sleepily slip on dark skinny jeans and black leather boots with sharp silver spikes on the sides. I have only put layer after layer of black mascara on and am just starting to line my eyes with thick, black eyeliner when my phone buzzes suddenly in my pocket.

I curse under my breath and take my phone out of my pocket, wincing as I see the big smudge the liner made on my eyelid. I avert my gaze downwards slightly to see who had had the nerve to ruin my makeup and roll my eyes in annoyance after I read the message.

_Sikowitz: Jade! You start the horoscope project today! Good luck and may coconuts bring joy to your life!_

First of all, I think it's illegal for teachers to text you in the first place- and second of all, what is with him and his coconuts? I think they're starting to mess with his mind. Come to think of it, he DID throw himself down a flight of stairs at one time in his life… Yeah, that man is mentally insane. I'm pretty sure I'm right this time- not that I'm always wrong.

On the contrary, I'm always right. I was right about Robbie (I predicted that he would fall in love with Cat in 8th grade), I was right about Sinjin being a creep (called it when he started putting chewed-up food on his locker door two years ago)- and, unfortunately enough, I was right about Beck. He's an arrogant, deceitful, handsome little asshole; someone who will play with your heart and then dump it for the next pretty girl that comes along.

I hurriedly grab some money out of my dad's wallet and stride through the door quickly enough so he wouldn't notice what I had done. He doesn't care about me anyway, so why I should I be nice to him in return? Why not use my skills to my advantage? That's just how I think of things- if you don't care, then screw you. I'll do whatever the hell I want then. No harm, no foul.

The red car handle feels nice and cool in my hand as I yank the door open and slam it shut with irritation. After buckling my seatbelt (safety first, children!) and cranking up the heat (winters in Los Angeles aren't horrible, but if you're "cold-blooded" like I am… they suck), I make my way down the windy road towards Jet Brew.

It takes me about ten minutes to drive up, order a black coffee with two sugars and a Boston crème donut on the side, and speed along the highway… only to hit a freak traffic jam when I'm literally about 30 seconds from Hollywood Arts.

_You've got to be kidding me. _I am just about to kick the door open and walk to school until I realize I have forgotten to do something- I still have to look at my horoscope.

Ugh. Just saying the word "horoscope" makes me want to gag.

I painstakingly take my phone out, open the _PsychicReadings_ app Sikowitz installed into our Pearphones, and enter my information.

_Name: Jadelyn West_

_Birth Date: July 26, 1994_

_Birth Time: _I make a face at the screen. Birth time? Really? This is so stupid. I decide to bull it and put down a random time I thought of off the top of my head. _3:01 AM_

_Birth City: San Francisco. _Yep, the good ole land of the Golden Gate Bridge, the home of Bella Swan, and the place with the rainiest years in the United States. Such a great place to live, right? I don't miss it at all. It just reminds me of my unhappy childhood.

_Birth State: California_

_Birth Country: Guatemala _

I smirk at my little joke and press the cheery pink "Personalize My Daily Forecast!" button. Immediately, I get an alert from Sikowitz.

_Sikowitz: Jade, don't be such a gank. We all know that California is not in Guatemala._

Okay, he's creeping me out now. How could he have possibly known that…

Oh, never mind. If it makes the crazy, bald teacher happy, then so be it.

_Birth Country: United States_

I am then taken to a page with at least four different horoscopes. Why the hell do you need more than one? One is bad enough!

I groan in frustration and read the first one at the top:

**Time to Mingle: Enough with the waiting at home for 'the one' to find you. Why not give them a fighting chance? See what you can do when you're dressed for the hunt and packing the right attitude. Go get 'em.**

Hmm… I hate to say it, but that's not such a bad idea. I do need to get out and about more and have some fun. All I've been doing ever since the breakup is mope about Beck.

It's not like I want to think about him or anything, and I won't deny that even after all the fights we had and what went down after the game show, I'm still hopelessly in love with him. It's a curse, I tell you. It's hard to get over someone who's been an important figure in your life for three years. I keep trying to remind myself how much of a robot he has become, but every time I keep trying to do that, I keep thinking about the old Beck- the guy who actually had feelings.

But now I'm acknowledging something else, something that has been bothering me ever since the Platinum Music Awards incident… Beck is over me. Not only has he been distancing himself from me lately, but he has been spending more time with Tori and Cat- and even Trina, of all people! He almost kissed Tori two times, for goodness' sake! And everywhere I go, it always seems like he's flirting with another girl, running his fingers through his wavy black hair as the girls swoon and blow kisses at him. It makes me sick.

You know what? Screw him. If he can get over me that easily… than I can, too. I'm better off without him and his god-given good looks. He can go jump off a cliff, for all I care! There are plenty of fish in the sea.

A car horn beeps at me from behind. I look up and realize that the traffic jam has cleared up. I give the ugly, fat man in the pickup truck the middle finger and speed off towards Hollywood Arts with a brilliant idea.

I'm thinking that tonight feels like a good time for a girl's night out, which can only mean one thing: we're going to be flirting with a lot of cute guys. And I know just the perfect place to go- and the right person to go with, for that matter.

* * *

"Hey, Cat." I sit down next to her at the lunch table with a cheese quesadilla and a carton of apple juice on my tray.

Cat doesn't answer me. Her eyes are too glued to a gossip magazine from three months ago.

"CAT!"

"JADE!" she squeals and points to the magazine. "Look! They're making a movie about Katy Perry! I love her music!"

I raise my eyebrow at her. "Cat… The movie came out already. That magazine was released months ago."

"What?" She turned to the cover and looked at the barcode. "Oh phooey! I grabbed the wrong copy!"

She stuffs the magazine back into her backpack and turns to face me. "What's up?" She giggles and holds up a small, fuzzy ball. "I found a piece of lint in my bag."

I sigh and roll my eyes in exasperation. "You want to hang out tonight? I have nothing to do and my parents are going out of town tonight."

"YAY!" She tackles me into a hug. "I'd love to, Jadey!"

"Get off of me!" I whine, struggling to untangle her from my shoulders.

"What do you have in mind?"

I give her a sly smile. "I was thinking we should go to that new place that opened next to the Freezy Queen in Bakersfield."

Cat's eyes widen almost to the size of tomatoes. "But Jade… that's a grown-up place," she whispers forcibly, and I can tell that the idea frightens her a little bit. "No one under 21 is allowed in."

I scoff. "Relax, I can get my brother to make us fake IDs. All we have to do is wear fancy high heels and lots of makeup and we can get in there easily."

Cat chews her lip nervously and looks at me quizzically. "Why do you want to go to a bar?"

"Because we can flirt with guys! Don't you want to spend one night being a grownup for once?" I plead. "Ditch those Yellow Kitty socks and flatter your legs for once! Seriously Cat, you can't stay a kid forever."

I immediately regret what I said as I see Cat's bottom lip quiver slightly and tears pool in her eyes. "Cat… I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend you-"

"No, it's okay," she cuts me off. "You're right. I want to feel like an adult for once in my life, like you said."

She takes a deep shuddery breath and smiles at me. "Maybe it'll be fun." She studies me carefully as she crosses her legs underneath the table. A slight breeze blows the frills on her salmon pink skirt and through her bright red hair, which dangles by the curves of her cheeks in ringlets. "You're trying to get over Beck, aren't you?"

"How did you know?"

"We've known each other for ten years now. I know you well enough to figure out that you're up to something."

We finish our lunches in silence and I catch her before she stands up and leaves. "So meet me at my house at 8?"

"Sure!" she says cheerily. "I can't wait! I have this dress I've been dying to wear for like, forever!" she gushes and skips off to her next class.

I shake my head and watch her disappear around the corner in her pink, flowery dress. Oh, Cat. I'm going to be extra careful not to let her near any of the alcohol once we get there. Who knows what it will do to that ditzy little brain of hers?

* * *

**Narrator's POV**

Cat hummed a happy tune while she skipped down the hallway. Finally, she would get to spend time with Jade! Even though it would be at a bar with a bunch of people drinking alcohol and smoking…

_You know what? _Cat thought to herself. _It's risky, but it's worth it. We deserve to have some fun once in a while. And maybe, just maybe, we'll make some new friends!_

She was so involved with her thoughts and speculations that she didn't see Beck texting on his Pearphone as he walked towards her. "Oof!" he exclaimed as they collided, and he was able to catch his Pearphone before it was about to smash against the concrete floor below.

"Oh, hey Beck!" Cat exclaimed. "Guess what? Jade and I are hanging out tonight!"

"That's great, Cat." Beck attempted to smile, but it ended up looking like a lopsided frown instead. "May I ask what you guys are doing?"

She looked down at the floor nervously. "I don't think I can tell you…"

"Come on, Cat, I'm not going to get you in trouble." He gave her a reassuring look. "Your secret is safe with me."

Cat sighed and twirled her hair with her fingers. "I don't know…" She giggled and winked. "But Jade is NOT trying to get over you." And with that, she brushed past him and was out the front door in a matter of seconds.

Beck frowned and tried to comprehend what Cat had just said. So Jade was trying to get over him… What? He was fine with being just friends with her, but imagining her with another guy made him woozy and faint. He just couldn't picture her with someone else other than him. But that doesn't mean that he wants her back… right?

"I need some juice," he muttered and marched over to the soda machine. Maybe a sugar boost would help him clear his thoughts.

His feelings for Jade were definitely conflicted, alright, but he was sure as hell that whatever Jade was up to couldn't be anything good… especially when it comes to getting over him.

He knew that he wasn't going to get very much sleep that night.

* * *

_Soooo, there's the end of that! Hehe, kind of a cliffhanger, huh? Guess you'll find out what happened when I update next._

_I know I changed tenses in the last part (from past to present), and I know it probably sounds confusing, but I tried writing it in present tense and it didn't sound right at all. So just deal with it for the time being lol._

_And who watched The Hambone King last night? (It's 1:20 AM here right now) OMG BE STILL, MY CABBIE HEART! Robbie stood up for her, he asked her to be his girl, Cat comforted him, and then she kissed him on the cheek! I squealed when that last thing happened; I couldn't help myself! They need to get together soon or the anticipation may just kill me._

_I'm also thinking about writing a Fanfiction called "Where's Robbie?" It would take place either during Wanko's Warehouse or afterwards… and, given the title name, it would have something to do with Robbie getting captured by the burglers. And it would probably have Cabbie in it somewhere because I won't be able to resist the temptation of having them stay just friends. LOL. Sound like a good idea? Let's see if I'll ever get around to writing it (stupid school… why does it have to be so freaking longggg)_

_Okay, going to bed now. REVIEW IF YOU DARE. Sweet Cabbie dreams, everyone!_

_Jess X3_


	4. Trina's Sick Day

_So, here's a couple of things I want to say before I start writing the next chapter:_

_First of all, for those are you that are wondering, that horoscope and Jade's birthday were real (the rest I had to make up). I typed her information into the site and that's the exact horoscope it came up with! Pretty coincidental, huh, since Jade's trying to get over Beck and everything even in the actual show. XD_

_Second of all, each chapter is going to encompass one full day. For example, last chapter illustrated Jade's horoscope day and this chapter will be Thursday- Trina's horoscope day. And I know you guys are anxious to know what happened with Jade and Cat at the bar, and spoiler alert… it will only be briefly mentioned here. Sorry for the disappointment, guys :/ But hopefully once you see where I'm going with this, you'll understand what I'm trying to do! In this chapter you'll see a lazy Trina, an angry Beck, and an overprotective Robbie, so hopefully that'll make up for what I did._

_Oh, and for some reason, whenever I try to write a URL and put a period in the middle, it deletes the whole word. So the astrology site I'm using is Astrology . com and the fruity soap site is BB&Y . com (Bed, Bath, and Yonder) Yay, yet another thing I have to apologize for lol. Electronics seem to hate me lately._

_And don't worry- there WILL be Cabbie and Tandre moments in future chapters! I just gotta figure out where to put them in and how they will be related to Jade and Beck's plot. As you may have noticed with my other stories by now… I don't have mine planned out ahead of time. I make them up as I go._

* * *

_Dear Idiot,_

_Yes, Sikowitz, I named my diary Idiot because the thought of even writing in a "diary" makes me want to stab something. Hope you don't mind__ because I may have to hurt you if you do._

_Anyway, my horoscope yesterday told me to stop waiting around for "the one" to find me and go have some fun. As you may know by now, Beck and I have been broken up for three months now and he has made no effort to beg for my forgiveness and take me back. Ohhh, so who's the gank NOW, Sikowitz? In your face!_

_So in order to try and get over Beck, I dragged Cat along to Rising Sun Bar and Grill in Bakersfield yesterday night and… well, it was disappointing. Not only were there no cute guys to flirt with (they were either unemployed drunkards cheating on their wives or big, forty year-old men with huge beer bellies. Ugh!), the food was horrible as well. Why can't people make decent nachos these days?_

_Oh, and don't worry, I kept Cat away from the alcohol. She was ogling my strawberry margarita like it was some sort of magic potion or something, but I told her that they used bug juice to make it so she would stop begging me to let her have a sip. Only bad thing is that I'm a little dizzy today because I think I drank a little too much last night…_

_Oh wait, did I just write all that down? Aw, I'm using pen, too! …Shit._

_Ignore that last paragraph. I would appreciate it if you did._

_But that's not all. A fistfight broke out while we were there, too. I wanted to watch, but Cat dragged me away once they started tipping over tables and ramming each other with chairs. Apparently, Cat doesn't appreciate the stupidity and hilarity of drunken brawls like I do. So basically, my night sucked. Thanks a lot for the message, horoscope._

_One good thing did come out of the whole experience, though. We managed to find one cute guy in the entire place right before we left. We ran up behind him and we each grabbed one of his arms, posed for a quick picture, and then scurried away before he could figure out what the hell just happened. It's on TheSlap if you want to see it. The expression on the random dude's face is priceless! And hopefully it will make Beck jealous._

_So that's what happened. Hope you're happy I'm even following through with this stupid assignment._

_…Wait a second. Why am I even telling him about all of this? I could get into some serious trouble by telling him that we snuck into a bar!_

_Awkward._

_…_

_*crumples up paper and throws it in the trash*_

* * *

**Trina's POV**

The pounding in my head wakes me up before my alarm clock does. "Ohhh, I'm so sick," I groan into my pillow. I flail my hand around for a tissue and blow my nose into it once I find one.

I turn on my bedside lamp and grab my compact mirror that I left on my drawers last night. I first thought it was in my purse, but then I remembered that I forgot to put it back because I wanted to make sure that I looked good before I fell asleep.

What? Being beautiful is a 24-hour job, you know! When you're born with strikingly good looks, you can't just let that go to waste, right?

I look at my face in the mirror. My eyes are all red and swollen and my face is puffy. Stupid cold. Of course, Tori just had to sneeze on me while I was driving home from school, which is most likely the reason why I look disgusting right now.

Guess I'll have to take a sick day today. Oh, darn. Whatever will I do with myself?

I use my amazing acting skills to roll out of bed and drag myself down the stairs. My mom is up already eating a bowl of cereal and Tori is still getting ready in her room. "Mommm," I moan, making my face as dismal-looking as possible and faking a horrific, phlegm-filled cough. "I don't think I can go to school today."

"Oh, honey! Are you feeling okay?" she asked, standing up and putting a hand on my forehead. "You feel kind of warm."

That doesn't surprise me one bit. Guess the old warm-towel-on-the-forehead trick still works after all. "No, my stomach is queasy and I feel like I'm going to die."

"Well, go get some rest and I'll call the school and tell them you're not coming, okay?" She shuffles over to the cupboard and gets out a teapot. "I'll make you some tea and I'll bring it up to you once it's done."

"Okay," I say in a pathetic voice. Rejoicing silently over my victory in my head, I slowly go up the stairs only to be stopped by Tori at the last step.

"The old warm-towel-on-the-forehead trick worked again, huh?" She smirks at me. "You've done that so many times I'm surprised Mom hasn't caught on to it yet."

I glare at her. "Shut up!" I slam my bedroom door behind me and take my phone out of its charger. I see that I have one new message from Sikowitz. _What?_ _Why would he be texting me at this hour? I'm not even in his class! Tori is._

_Sikowitz: Trina! You start the horoscope project today! Good luck and may coconuts bring joy to your life!_

Damn, I forgot all about that. Well guess what? I've got a good excuse not to do it.

_Trina: Sorry Sikowitz, no can do. I'm sick as a dog. I'm going to go back to sleep now. Sayonara, hippie!_

I pressed SEND and it only took me a minute to get a response.

_Sikowitz: First of all, dogs aren't sick. They're fuzzy and cute. Second of all, sickness is not an excuse. Get it done or you won't graduate. May your horoscope ever be in your favor!_

What?! How can he do that to me? I'm awesome! I have to graduate and get away from this school filled with these untalented losers! I'm so much more talented than them that it's practically embarrassing.

Ugh, whatever. Guess it's better to get it over with now anyway so I can do other things like paint my nails.

I go to the app Sikowitz forced us to install and enter in my information.

_Full Name: Trina Vega_

_Birth Date: April 17, 1994_

_Birth Time: 7:26 AM _That one I just made up. I know that I was born sometime in the morning (I don't remember what time exactly, though)… I was just too lazy to look at my birth certificate, so I just put down some random time.

_Birth City: Los Angeles_

_Birth Country: United States_

The first caption that appears on the page reads **Nice and Easy**. Perfect. Sounds right up my alley.

**There aren't too many moments in life that are destined to go exactly the way you want them to - so when they arrive, it's good to know about them, and even better to take advantage of them. Yes, you guessed it - this is one of those moments. Now what should you do about this?**

Man, this is too easy! I'm so getting a good grade on this project. I'm going to practically get an A for doing absolutely nothing. Awesome!

I do exactly what my horoscope tells me to do. I make myself an avocado mask and smear it all over my face. I turn on my PearPod full blast and start humming to "Die Young" by Ke$ha. God, I freaking love her! I mean, her music. I don't "love" her. That would just be strange. Actually, maybe not…

Stop it, Trina. You're straight. And sick, for that matter. Enjoy your newfound freedom while you can.

I jump on my bed and take out my favorite color of nail polish, Seafoam Green. "Alright…" I wiggle my cute little toes. "Time to make these puppies gorgeous."

* * *

**Narrator's POV**

"Wait… WHAT did you say you and Cat did last night?"

Jade slammed her locker door shut. "Calm down, Robbie. It's no big deal."

"It is too a big deal! This is Cat we're talking about! The girl who thinks opening doors are like giving people presents! How could you be so stupid to take her to a bar?" Robbie yelled.

He cowered as Jade ripped a pair of scissors off a locker door and slowly walked towards him, a menacing scowl creeping across her face. "No one calls me stupid and gets away with it, Shapiro."

"Jade, don't hurt him!" Cat cried out suddenly, appearing seemingly out of nowhere, and grabbed the scissors out of Jade's hands. "Robbie, I'm fine. It's not her fault- she didn't make me do it. I agreed to go with her."

Robbie's mouth dropped open in surprise. "Cat…" He went up to her and clutched her shoulders in his hands. "Did you know how dangerous it was to do that? Alcohol and nice, pretty girls do not mix."

Cat's face fell and she looked down in shame. "I'm sorry…"

She pulled him into a hug and his face brightened. "It's okay, Cat," he chuckled. "I'm not mad at you. Just concerned, that's all." She hugged him tighter and his face got redder.

"Ugh. You two make me sick," Jade complained. "Get a room."

"Jade!" Cat protested. "Don't be a crabby Kathy!"

"I have every right to be a crabby Kathy!" Jade yelled and stormed past them down the hallway.

Robbie looked back at Jade's raging figure and then at Cat questioningly. "What's up with her today?"

Cat giggled and took his hand in hers. "I'll tell you later."

* * *

Jade was so busy being jealous of Cat and Robbie's interaction that she didn't notice where she was going. Within minutes, she found herself on top of something hard that smelled vaguely of cologne.

"Geez, watch where you're going!" Jade pushed herself to her feet and vigorously brushed dirt off of her black leather jacket.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I think _you're _the one that bumped into _me_," Beck scoffed. He groaned and rubbed his head. "I'm pretty sure you gave me a tooth mark on my forehead."

"Be a man and get over it." Jade furrowed her eyebrows and glared at him.

"So… have fun last night? Heard you and Cat had a good time."

"Oh, yes." Her frown was replaced by a small smirk. "Tons. "

"Looked like that guy you were with was having fun, too. I could tell by the startled, wild look in his eye as the camera blinded him."

"Jealous much?"

"Actually… no."

Jade's eyes widened. "Huh?"

"He was drunk, obviously. Why should I be jealous of a man desperate enough to trick a girl into getting a guy's pants? He's not even that attractive, either."

Beck matched her smirk and took one step towards her. "Two can play this game, Jade. Revenge isn't always that sweet."

Jade clenched her teeth together and balled her hands into fists. Her blood boiled and she practically felt smoke shooting from her ears. How dare he humiliate her like that!

She let out a frustrated yell and barreled past him, purposefully bumping into his shoulder as she stomped to her next class.

Angry thoughts zipped around in her brain and her imagination went wild. She imagined Beck getting hit by a bus, getting stuck in an elevator, and being eaten by crocodiles. But she also thought of his cologne- god, she had always loved that woodsy smell on him. And she couldn't help but notice that his hair looked especially luscious and better than usual today.

"What a freaking idiot he is," she muttered to herself. Now it was definite.

She officially hated Beck Oliver.

* * *

_So that's that! Man it's been a long time since I've updated, huh? A month and two days, to be exact? Sorry! My teachers have been bombarding me with homework, my job takes up a lot of my free time, and I have a new relationship to take care of as well (that's right! Ms. Always Single finally has a boyfriend. Hehehe ^_^). Didn't get too affected by Hurricane Sandy, luckily enough. Hope everyone else out there is safe and review when you can! Keep the Jersey shore in your prayers (and no, I do NOT mean Snooki and her friends) because they got hit really hard during the storm :/ Thanks!_


	5. Andre Gets Wonky- What Else Is New?

_Look who's finally updating again! Hooray! Having some writer's block lately, but hopefully it will disappear as I write this chapter :). Ugh, I hate how I make it seem like all the characters' birthdays are so close together. Hope that'll change as I do some more research on zodiac signs :P._

* * *

**Trina's POV**

_Dear Diary,_

_Finally, I have somewhere to brag about myself! I've been stuck in the house all day and haven't been able to go out and tell people about how awesome I am. And you know what else sucks? Gary Pearson, the amazingly hot senior in my science class, took off his shirt during school and I wasn't there to get a picture! God, that boy is hot. He must have a chiseled upper body!_

_Sorry, getting distracted here. Anyway, my horoscope told me to take advantage of a moment in my life. This morning, I woke up with a killer headache, so I decided to take advantage of this (__not)__ excruciating pain and pamper myself for a day. It seemed like a good idea at first. I painted my nails and toenails and my mom made me all of my meals for me! I didn't even have to go downstairs to eat them; she brought them to my bed! _

_Do you know how much energy it takes to go up and down the stairs one time? I don't think so. So many stairs… They kill me!_

_Later on in the day though, I started to feel better, so I tried to drive to my friend Stacy's house (who wanted to show me a picture of Gary's awesome abs), but I couldn't! No matter how many times I told my mom that I was completely healed, she made me go back to my room. So now I'm bored to death and actually wishing that I had gone to school. What madness has this world descended into?! Trina Vega actually WANTING to do work? So funny that I forgot to laugh._

_Well, it's 8:00 at night right now. Guess I should go to bed considering I have nothing better to do and I'm a prisoner in my own bedroom. Man, horoscopes suck._

_*ahem* I mean… Wow, horoscopes are great! Awesome! Fantastic! (__Please give me an A so I can get out of this freaking school!)_

_Okay, bye. If my headache comes back, I will rip this diary into shreds and throw it in the fireplace so it can suffer and burn for eternity._

* * *

**Andre's POV**

"Andre! The numbers on my clock changed again!"

My eyes snapped open and I groaned. It's 4:30 am. Just my luck. I should've expected this though. She always does this in the morning.

"Grandma, they're supposed to do that!" I shout back at her.

"AAAAH, it happened again!"

I heard something smash and I cringe. She must've used the baseball bat to break it again. Looks like I'll have to get her a new one for Christmas.

I get out of bed and stumble around in the dark. It takes me about two minutes to trip over a pile of clothes, slam into a wall, and fumble around for a light switch. Yeah, I'm not the most graceful person in the world in the morning.

I change into my workout clothes and pack up my gym bag. Hey, biceps don't just appear overnight, you know. And since my grandma always wakes me up so damn early, why not? There's never anyone at LA Fitness at 5 in the morning anyway.

It doesn't take me too long to calm her down, get her to take her meds, and drive the 20 minutes to the gym. Pretty far away, I know, but it's worth it. The owners knew my parents before they moved to Jamaica and left me with my grandmother, so I get to come whenever I want and the membership is free. "Anything for family," they say, giving me that warm smile that reeks with sympathy.

FYI, they're not my family. Just close family friends I've known since I was a baby. They worked with my parents once upon a time in a nonprofit organization that raised money for better education in third-world countries. That's why my parents are in Jamaica now; they've created a company down there that tutors the citizens so they can go on to obtain degrees in college and/or get a good job.

They left me about two years ago; I've only ever heard from them twice since then. They call every Christmas and that's it.

It's like they don't even care I exist sometimes.

Well, maybe I'm being a little dramatic. I know they care. Their work keeps them really busy. They have to travel a lot and don't have much free time to themselves.

It's pretty selfless, I guess. But you'd think they'd have enough time to call up their only child living with his mentally insane grandma to see how he's holding up.

They wanted me to come with them, but I wanted to stay in Los Angeles with my friends. As soon as they left and Tori came to Hollywood Arts, I knew I had made the right decision.

Sophomore and junior year were awesome. We're seniors this year. As much as I'm dreading the day when we all have to part ways, I'm excited for what's to come.

Senior Skip Day, Prome, Senior Week… You get my drift.

I set the clock for an hour on the treadmill. Later on, I'll spend half an hour lifting weights and fifteen minutes cooling off. And maybe go to Jet Brew and and spend some money on a coffee just to reward myself and get some energy before school starts.

I absorb myself in the music blasting in my ears from my Pearpod and focus on the workout. I didn't want to think about school just yet. I have a project due for my Advanced Songwriting class today and I haven't even started it yet.

We're supposed to write a love song. It can't be a ballad, though. It has to make people want to jump up and dance, which frankly I don't get. Aren't love songs supposed to be long, sappy, and slow?

That's why the song isn't even written yet. I don't do bouncy, synthesized love songs like they do on the radio.

Well I _have _written one fast love song before, but that's when I had inspiration- Jade. My silly little crush on her that lasted for a little over a day. Yes, I'm talking about 365 Days.

Mr. Tucker said that it had to be original. 365 Days _is _original- heck, I was the one that wrote it, after all. It was just written a long time ago. But hey, I need that A.

After my workout, I've made my decision- I'll turn that in today. I've got no other choice.

I make some small talk with Mr. and Mrs. Slinkovski, the owners I mentioned earlier, and rush home to take a quick shower and grab the sheet music and the CD I made with 365 Days on it. I throw on a blue t-shirt, jeans, and sneakers before I dash out the door and drive to Jet Brew. It's a little shorter drive in the opposite direction- only about five minutes- and it's located just two miles away from Hollywood Arts. How much more convenient can you get than that?

I walk in and give my order to the cashier up front: a blueberry muffin and a Candy Cane latte. It's Jet Brew's special drink for the holidays this year- coffee mixed with sugar, cream, and peppermint flavor with whipped cream and a candy cane hanging on the side. I've had it before and it's literally heaven in a cup. It's so good that I would drink it for the rest of my life if I could.

I look for a table to sit at and I see a familiar head of hair peeking over one of the booths from my peripheral vision. Black hair with purple streaks. That's definitely Jade.

Her head jerks up from her Pearphone as I sit down across from her. "Hey Jade. What's going on?"

She frowned. "Could you give me a ride to school?"

"Uhh… Sure, I guess. What happened?" I take a sip of my latte, enjoying the minty flavor on my tongue.

As soon as I put it down, she takes it from me and drinks out of it. "Ugh," she gags. "Too sweet. How can you drink that stuff?"

She obviously doesn't want to talk about why she doesn't have a car. Oh well; I'll ask later. "Three words. Huge sweet tooth. Regular coffee is too bitter for me."

"Oh, man up! It's not that bad," Jade chuckles and slides it across the table. I catch it before it can fall into my lap.

"Hey, my coffee, my business," I joke back at her. "To each his own."

I see her sigh and take a bite of her red velvet muffin. She looks exhausted. She has black circles under her eyes and she barely has any makeup on, which is very rare. Jade West loves her black eyeliner and eye shadow. She must've had a long morning. "Okay, what's up? To be perfectly honest, you don't look so good right now."

She gives me a glare. "I had a fight with my dad and left my house in a hurry. I got here, parked, and it wasn't until five minutes after I got here that some idiot backed up into my car. They took it away and told me I would have to come pick it up tonight. If I don't, they're going to charge me $100 more than the insurance covers."

"Dang girl, that sucks. So you don't have a ride because they towed it?"

She rolls her eyes in irritation. "Didn't I just say that?" She reaches over the table and pushes my shoulder. "You gotta wake up today, Harris."

Now it's my turn to sigh. "Sorry, my grandma woke me up early again. I don't get enough sleep nowadays since the doctors prescribed her new meds. They don't seem to be helping."

"Man, so it looks like we've both had a shitty morning so far," Jade comments. She finishes her food and stands up to go. "You coming or what?"

"Geez Jade, be patient. I'm not even done my muffin yet!" I protest.

Jade smirks. "Well, if you don't hurry up, I'm leaving without you." She jiggles something in front of my face. "I have your car keys."

"Hey!" I reach up to grab them, but she pulls them back quickly and puts them in her pocket. "How did she…" I trail off and follow her before I lose her, hurriedly wrapping up what's left of my muffin and chucking it into the nearest garbage can.

We don't talk the whole entire drive; we just sink into our melancholy moods and stay that way until we enter Hollywood Arts. Since we both have Sikowitz together first period (with the rest of the gang), we walk together side by side, simultaneously drinking our coffee.

Sikowitz's is the same as usual. I take a seat next to Tori and Jade reluctantly takes the only seat left next to Beck. She gives him the same glare she had given me earlier, only this time it's darker and filled with hatred instead of annoyance, and crosses her arms in front of her. Poor Jade. Girl's going to have a rough day today; I can just tell. A silly acting warm-up, a quick recap of method acting, a few more scenes of improvisation, and the class is over.

I don't have Advanced Songwriting until fourth period with Jade, Tori, and Cat. By that time, I'm so nervous that I'm shaking in my shoes. The only person who knows about 365 Days and who I really wrote it for is Tori. If Jade ever found out, god knows what she would do to me. Skin me alive, probably.

I'd prefer to keep my skin on my body, thank you very much.

We hand our songs in at the door and sit down. My seat is next to Cat's in the front, Tori sits on the other side of the room, and Jade sits alone in the rightmost corner of the room- just the way she likes it.

"Andre!" Cat squeaks and waves at me. "Hiiii!"

"Sup Little Red," I say offhandedly. The teacher gives us a few minutes to chat while he takes a quick look at our songs. Cat tries to make small talk with me, but I'm so distracted that all I can do is mutter one-word answers and stare at my shoes.

While feigning distraction, I take out my phone and check my messages, and I see that I had received one from Sikowitz this morning. Huh. I guess I was too preoccupied to see it.

_Sikowitz: Andre! You start the horoscope project today! Good luck and may coconuts bring joy to your life!_

I sigh and take a few minutes to open up the horoscope app and plug in my information.

_Full name: Andre Harris_

_Birth Date: May 9, 1995_

_Birth Time: 3:45 pm_

_Birth City: New Orleans_

_Birth State: Louisiana_

_Birth Country: United States_

My horoscope for the day pops up a few moments later.

**Whoops - There It Is!: You'll be dealing with your share of nervous energy, which could be a bit disconcerting to others. Too much tapping of the fingers and watching of the clock could make anyone nuts. Besides, isn't there something you really need to say? If that's what's causing all this, just say it!**

I look behind me and see Tori giving me a bizarre look. She must've noticed how weird I've been acting as the school day progressed. "What's up?" she mouths without making noise. Her eyebrows crinkle with worry and her lips purse into a frown.

Holy crap, these horoscopes don't lie. But what the heck do I need to say?

"I'll tell you later," I mouth back just as Mr. Tucker begins to talk.

"Alright, everyone! I just scanned over your songs and they look fantastic! Definitely a huge improvement over last semester's final project."

"That's awesome!" Cat exclaims. I shake my head amusedly. Oh, Cat; always finding the littlest bit of joy in the simplest things. "What are we going to do now?"

"I'm going to give you each a copy of another student's song and you will grade them based on how accurately they complete the assignment. Did they assign the right tempo with the melody and the harmony? Is it a love song? Is it original and unique? Etc., etc." he says while handing a piece of paper to each student.

I get one from a girl named Emily and I flip through it really quickly. Fast tempo, all about unrequited love, but not very original. It sounds like one of those bad break-up songs that Taylor Swift writes about her exes.

Not that I listen to her music or anything like that. I just made those assumptions on a whim.

I gave it a B+ and set it aside. I see Cat giggling as she reads from a crumpled piece of paper that looks like a dog mauled it. Tori is chewing on her pencil's eraser as she looks at a blue piece of paper, and Jade is analyzing a sheet of music that has eraser marks and red marker bleeding through the back of it.

Wait a second. I can recognize that piece of paper anywhere.

Jade is reading 365 Days. The song I wrote for her. The red marks are from the sharpie marker that I crossed out all the times where I put "Jade" instead of "baby."

Shit! What if she figures out that it was me that wrote it? Oh no, here comes the wonk again!

I sneak over to Tori while the teacher isn't looking and tap her on the arm to get her attention. She jumped and almost dropped the song she was reading. "Oh my god, Andre!" she exclaimed and put a hand to her chest. "You scared the fudge out of me!"

"I need your help. Something bad just happened!"

Before she can even respond, I'm already at Mr. Tucker's desk asking him if I can go to the bathroom. As soon as he says yes, I rush over to Tori, grab her wrist, and yank her out the door.

"Whoa, Andre! What's going on?! Let go of me!" she shrieks as I drag her to the janitor's closet.

I let the door close gently behind me and then I have a panic attack. "Jade read 365 Days."

"Wait, WHAT?! How?"

"I couldn't think of a fast love song to write, so I turned in 365 Days instead."

"You can't be serious. Andre, why would you do such a thing?!" she cries out and throws her hands in the air.

"I don't know! I didn't think the teacher was going to let _us_ grade them! And I sure as hell wasn't expecting Jade to read _my _song!" I lean against the metal shelves and moan. "What am I going to do?"

Tori chews on her lip and crosses her arms. I know that look- it's her thinking face. She has an idea. "You're still feeling guilty about writing the song about her while she was with Beck, right?"

"Yeah…" What is she trying to say?

"Well, in order to stop feeling wonky about this whole thing… You're going to have to tell her the truth."

My eyes widen with fear as I freeze, aghast by her bluntness. The reality of what has to be done hits me head-on. "No… I can't…"

"You have to tell her that you wrote the song about her."

* * *

_Eeeeks… Definitely not one of my best chapters :P. Haha at least I ended it on a cliffhanger :). I'll either continue this day (Friday) in the next chapter or include a flashback in Andre's diary entry so you can see what ends up happening. Oh, another thing- Stupid fanfiction won't let me cross out words like Microsoft Word lets me do, so the words in parantheses in Trina's diary entry were supposed to be crossed out (as if Sikowitz wasn't supposed to read them but she wrote them in there anyway).  
_

_So how about that new episode yesterday? It was ok, I think. They rushed the ending a little bit, but it's nice that Bade is back together- and the Cabbie subplot was really cute! But guess what came after it that was 100 times better than Tori Fixes Beck and Jade? (In my opinion, at least) The promo for One Thousand Berry Balls. Robbie kisses Cat. ASDGTDLHKL;HGDAL! I've never been excited for a TV episode in my life… or at least since I stopped watching Disney Channel two years ago. I have no idea how I'm going to survive this week until then… *sigh.*_

_Please review! I love reviews! They brighten my whole day (hint hint hint). And hopefully I'll be able to get another chapter up soon since Christmas break is coming up in a few weeks and I have a study hall now :)._


	6. The Wonk Escalates

_Okay, so I've decided to continue Friday with Andre's dilemma so I can set the background for what Robbie is going to be dealing with on Saturday. (it's his turn next for the horoscope project). It's a lot easier for me to do instead of stuffing a huge flashback, diary entry, and another chapter all in one enormous chapter._

_And sorry for not updating for so long again- school and work keep me insanely busy, PLUS my Christmas break has been really hectic. So yeah, get used to the long hiatuses between chapter updates because I have a lot going on in my life right now. But good news! I'm going to college! Yipee! Such a weight off of my shoulders, you have no idea._

_Enjoy the story!_

* * *

**Narrator's POV**

After a tense lunch (with Andre trying to avoid Jade as much as possible) and a couple more classes, the school day came to an end, much to Andre's dismay.

Usually, students were happy when school ended. They could go home and do whatever they wanted or hang out with their friends. So why wasn't he happy that eight hours of torture were finally over and the weekend was approaching? (TGIF, anyone?)

Because halfway through the day, Tori had reminded him that a certain someone's car had broken down and he would have to drive her home. In order for him to stop being wonky about 365 Days, he would have to tell her before he dropped her off or forever hold his peace.

He found her in his car texting on her PearPhone with her feet up and resting on the dashboard. She looked up as he approached the car, gave him a slight nod, then went back to what she was doing before with an emotionless, unwavering expression hanging on her face the whole time.

She didn't even glance up at him when he got into the driver's seat and slammed the car door shut. "Ready to go?"

She rolled her eyes. "I always am. Now let's go. I don't want to get stuck in traffic."

He sighed and pulled out of the Hollywood Arts parking lot. He would have to get over with this quickly. Jade's house wasn't very far from his, which means that he had approximately twelve minutes to tell her about his song.

"So… how was school today?" he asked her, trying to bring up the subject casually.

"Don't beat around the bush, Harris. Tell me exactly what you want from me and get over it. You've been acting weird all day- well, weirder than usual, that is."

She put her phone in the pocket of her black leather jacket and looked at him expectantly. "Well, I…um…" Andre bit his lip nervously and kept his eyes on the road. "I…"

"If you stutter one more time, I will cut your lips off with my new scissors. Get to the point," Jade threatened him. "I don't have the time or the interest to listen to this crap."

"Damn, girl…" he muttered. "Okay, fine! I'll tell you if you stop interrupting me."

"No promises."

He sighed in frustration. "Remember when I performed that song at the Friday Night Concert last year? It was the day after we brainstormed the lyrics for 'Okay.'"

"Yeah, what about it?" Suddenly, something clicked in her head. "Wait… 365 Days? The song I read during our class today?"

Andre could feel his hands slipping on the wheel. He was so anxious that his hands were starting to sweat, despite the fact that it was only about 50 degrees outside and he didn't have the heat turned on in his car. "Yep, that's the song…" he trailed off.

"So? I have to admit, it was a good song. Kind of corny, but it wasn't horrible. The only thing that really bothered me was all the red marks scattered across the page," Jade remarked.

"Yeah, about that… I originally had this one idea, but I decided that it was silly, so I replaced the person's name with 'baby' so she wouldn't know that the song was about her." He laughed nervously, dreading what was to come.

"Aw, Andre had a crush!" she crowed in her mock-Tori voice. "Who was the girl?"

"Uh…"

She pulled out the scissors that Cat had gotten for her last Christmas and stroked the shiny metal blades with the tips of her fingers. "Don't make me use these," she warned him.

"Would you quit that? You're starting to scare the shit out of me!" Andre exclaimed.

Jade smirked. "Exactly."

He shook his head in defeat. "You're going to kill me when I tell you who it is."

"Says who?"

"Me!"

"And why would you think that I'd kill you if you tell me the girl's name?"

"Because that girl is you!" Andre practically shouted, then covered his mouth. Uh-oh. He didn't mean for the truth to come out, but it did.

There was no going back now.

"WHAT?!" she screeched loudly, causing him to slam on his breaks in alarm and pull over on the side of the road. Good thing no one was behind him; otherwise, the driver would've gotten a cruel surprise.

"Were you trying to give me a heart attack?!" Andre exclaimed.

Jade said nothing. She sat there with her arms crossed and a million emotions traveling at the speed of lightning across her face. She slowly unbuckled her seatbelt and got out of the car, keeping the scissors firmly clutched in her right hand.

"What are you doing?" He mimicked her actions and followed her as she trudged through the tall grass. The ground squished under their feet and the sky seemed to get even cloudier than it was before.

She kept walking until they reached a clearing surrounded by trees. He shuffled behind her, utterly befuddled by her actions, and gasped when she whipped around and he unexpectedly found her scissors just inches away from his nose.

Her hand- the one she was holding the scissors with- shook the tiniest bit as she glowered at him and motioned for him to sit down on a nearby tree stump. "Talk. Now."

And fearing for his life, Andre obeyed her commands.

* * *

**_Meanwhile…_**

_Beep beep beep_

Robbie's phone buzzed and made noise, alerting him that someone was calling him. "Hello?"

He hastily shut his locker door and made his way to the boy's bathroom, where it was quieter. He walked into a stall and locked the door behind him. "Oh hey Mom! What's going on?"

He listened to her talk and groaned in response. "No, I can't look after Tracy tomorrow, Mom! I…have plans."

Again, he paused and grimaced. "No, not with Rex. He's still sour about me putting him in a time-out in my backpack."

"Damn right I am!" he heard him exclaim. Robbie kicked his backpack to shut him up, and he got his wish. "Sorry about that. But Mom, Tracy hates me! She always cries when I try to play with her! Why is Aunt Carrie bringing her over this weekend, anyway?"

His eyes widened. "Oh… Okay, I totally understand. Too much information, Mom. I'll do it. Okay, see you later."

He hung up the phone and sighed. Apparently, his aunt was having "pregnancy issues" and his mom had planned to soothe her mood swings by planning a "girl's night out" tomorrow night. And that meant he was stuck with Tracy, his evil three-year old cousin.

Don't get him wrong, she was adorable and everything. She had big blue eyes, curly strawberry blonde hair that bounced with every step she took, and the cutest little dimple on her chin. She just hated Robbie's guts. He didn't know why she hated him or how she could dislike him so much at such a young age, but he just dealt with it and kept his distance whenever possible.

"Looks like you won't be doing anything Saturday night," a voice chuckled behind him.

"Aaaaah!" Robbie screamed. He turned around to see Beck's head peeping over the stall wall. "Good gravy, you scared me! I would've expected that from Sinjin, but definitely not from you."

"Well, I was in here first and you were talking really loudly, so I became curious."

"And that gives you the excuse to climb onto the toilet and peep over my stall? What if I was-"

"Let's not get into that," Beck waved it off. "Sounds like you've got a problem, dude."

"Yeah, what do I do?" Robbie paced around the stall awkwardly, trying not to bump into the scratched-up, grimy walls that surrounded him.

"You could ask one of the girls to babysit Tracy with you. Cat loves kids, especially little girls. You can all have little tea parties together and play dress-up."

Beck snorted, failing to keep his laughter inside of him, and Robbie glared at him. "But seriously, ask Cat. I'm sure she won't mind."

Robbie thought about it. "That's actually not a bad idea!"

"Uh, okay?"

Robbie burst out of the stall and ran out the restroom. "Thanks Beck!" bounced off of the ceramic tiles on the floor and the walls.

Beck smiled to himself. "It's about time those two get together." _Good plan, Beck, _he thought to himself. _Good job playing matchmaker._

_If only you could keep your own love life in order as well._

* * *

"Hey Cat!" Robbie called out to the little redhead as he ran towards her. "I need to ask you something."

"Oooh, is it a pop quiz?" Cat exclaimed. "I love random questions!"

"No… " He leaned against her locker, which was pink and covered in unicorn magnets and candy stickers. "You love kids, right?"

"Of course I do! They're so cute! I babysat this kid one time that ate things that weren't food."

She gasped and put a hand to her chest. "I think he ate my charm bracelet," she whispered with a serious look on her face.

"Wait, I thought your brother ate your charm bracelet…?"

"He did, but I bought a new one a couple of months ago and then I lost it. I was really sad, too! It was red and sparkly and had all these cherries dangling off of it. But the cherries weren't real- they were made of metal. I tried eating one just to make sure, but that didn't work out too well. It tasted really bad."

He sighed in exasperation but couldn't help being enamored by her flattering purple lace top and her dark skinny jeans. Ignoring her little story, he got right to the point. "Will you help me babysit my cousin Tracy tomorrow night?"

"Ohhhh, the cousin that hates your guts?" she commented innocently.

_Thanks, Cat. Not that I knew that already or anything._ "…Yes, that cousin. I've never taken care of her alone, though! I don't know what girls like!"

She giggled. "Robbie, you're so clueless when it comes to girls."

Ouch. That hurt. "Will you help me or not?" he snapped, quickly becoming irritated.

Her eyes twinkled and her smile reeked with a little bit of mischief. "Sure! …But you have to do something for me in return."

"Okay… What do I have to do?"

Cat pulled Mr. Purples, her stuffed giraffe, out of her backpack and stroked his head affectionately. "I don't know yet," she said. "I'll have to think about it."

She then squealed and hugged the giraffe close to her chest. "It'll be a surprise! How exciting!"

She gave him a quick hug and he watched her skip out the door. He could still smell her perfume on him- strawberries and cream- even though the hug had lasted merely a few seconds. God, she was beautiful.

He made a note on his phone that Cat was coming on Saturday and also made a mental note to prepare dinner ahead of time and rent a movie that they would both like to watch after they put Tracy to bed. He shivered in anticipation and got butterflies in his stomach about all the things they could do together… alone. Without anyone from the gang interrupting their little "moments," as he liked to call them.

Maybe babysitting Tracy wouldn't be so bad after all.

* * *

**Andre's POV**

_Dear Diary,_

_So my horoscope told me that I was nervous and that there was something I needed to say. At first, I didn't know what the chizz it was talking about. I thought the whole thing was a big bunch of baloney. But soon enough, I started feeling nervous because of this one assignment I had to turn in. And then Jade ended up reading it and I got all wonky._

_Why did I get wonky, you ask? Because I originally wrote that love song for her while she was still dating Beck._

_So I took Tori's advice and told Jade about my true intent behind 365 Days. I almost wet my pants because she pulled her scissors on me and looked like she wanted to kill something, but I eventually got her to calm down and to tell me exactly what was on her mind. She told me that it was sweet and that I shouldn't be ashamed that I had a crush on her, even though she was with Beck at the time. Weirdly enough, she understood what I was going through, which completely blew me off my feet. Who knew Jade had an understanding bone in her body? I sure didn't._

_And then she told me she didn't feel that way about me (which I was totally okay with, given that my crush on her a year ago has disappeared almost entirely since then) and admitted that she was still in love with Beck, which I sorta expected anyway. I mean, it's hard to be with someone for three years and suddenly have to forget about him. So, in the end, I didn't die. Or get stabbed with those sharp, shiny scissors of hers. Man, I'm going to have nightmares now from that experience! It'll be the toilet paper incident all over again._

_But in a way, we kind of became closer as friends, so it worked out in the long run. She still doesn't like me, but at least she can tolerate me- and I'm okay with that. As long as she doesn't kill me in the future, I'm cool with her insults and torment._

_Unless she tries to harm Tori. Then, I'll have to intervene. There's not a doubt in my mind about that one._

_Well, I gotta get to bed and hope that Jade doesn't haunt me in my sleep. Guess this project isn't as unbearable as I thought it would be. So I guess I should say thank you, in a way? I don't know._

_But if my horoscope next week screws something up somehow, then I may just have to take that thank-you away. Universe, you have been warned._

* * *

_Woohoo, overcame the writer's block! Mission accomplished :D. Finally was able to work some Cabbie and Tandre in there. There will be more Bade in a chapter or two, so keep an eye out for that in the future as well. Hope no one has forgotten about me yet! Please review and tell me what you think of the chapter, and hopefully I'll be able to update again sometime in early January. However, I will have to start studying for finals and I'll probably have a million tests before the semester ends, so we'll see how the updating works out :P._

_Can't wait to ring in the new year! 2013, here we come! _


	7. Robbie's Tough Decision as Chaos Ensues

_Hey guys, yes I'm updating after another month-long break. I've been going through a lot of shit lately. I had amazing times and dates with my boyfriend… but then we broke up a week ago and I was insanely depressed… and incredibly bitchy and spiteful to everyone around me :(. It sucks having your first love crushed into pieces, right? It's still sinking in and I just felt like shit after the whole thing went down. Plus my grades are falling so that's not a good thing either. …Whatever. Gotta move on with my life sometime, but I'm feeling better now and ready to write!_

_Oh boy… this one was a tough one to write because there's so much going on in this chapter and I'm not exactly sure how a three-year old acts around people. So bear with my depression and jumbled-up writing lol. Sigh…_

* * *

**Robbie's POV**

_Full Name: Robert Shapiro_

_Birth Date: July 7, 1995_

_Birth Time: 8:45 AM_

_Birth City: Los Angeles_

_Birth State: California_

_Birth Country: United States_

I typed my information into the astrology app, bored out of my mind. The show on the TV screen seems so far away because my mind keeps jumping to other places. _Why is Cat late? She's supposed to be here by now! What the heck am I going to do when she gets here? Or when my aunt brings Tracy over, for that matter? Aaagh!_

"And slide, and slide, and do the butterfly! And hip, and hip, and shake my little hips I want you, and you, to do it with me too! Woo!" I hear a young Miley Cyrus shout from the TV screen, and I look up to see her do a little kick with her white-and-blue pom poms waving in the air. I don't see why people liked Hannah Montana so much before it ended- the name of the show is just cheesy in itself and I find Miley Cyrus to be incredibly annoying.

Oh, and I'm only watching it because it's Tracy's favorite TV show, according to my aunt. She just can't get enough of it. She squeals whenever she sees the blonde-haired side of Hannah Montana and says, "Robbie, her hair changed colors!"

Guess she doesn't know what the function of a wig is yet. She's only three years old, after all.

I hear the oven beep in the kitchen. "Oooh, the cupcakes are ready!" I exclaim and put my phone down on the couch. I run across the tile floor, slide my hands into cream-colored oven mitts, and take the red velvet cupcakes out of the oven. I take a small piece of one and put it in my mouth. Perfect. It's not undercooked and it's not burned. Cat's going to love me when I give these to her.

And Tracy can have some too, of course. But I made them mainly for Cat.

I rummage in the pantry and find two containers of cream cheese frosting that I bought at the grocery store the other day. I'll wait until Cat and Tracy come to frost them.

I eat the rest of the one that I had taken a bite out of and make my way back to the couch. While grabbing the remote control and turning the TV off, I pick up my PearPhone and press the "Personalize My Daily Forecast!" button so I can get my horoscope.

I'm not sure what to expect, honestly. I've never heard of a horoscope until Sikowitz told us about them four days ago. All I know is that because of them, Jade dragged Cat to a bar (which I'm still not happy about), Trina took a "sick day," and Andre… all I heard was that Jade almost murdered him.

I'm not sure if that's true or not, but someone will tell me what happened someday. If they even remember that I exist.

It doesn't take long for my horoscope to appear on the screen. I squint at the tiny font on my screen and adjust my glasses so I can read it more clearly.

**Castles in the Air**: **If you're not absolutely, positively sure you can deliver, don't you dare promise it. Even if it's a nice gesture, you'll be held to it. You won't want to disappoint anyone, do you? Of course not. So if you're in doubt, refuse to make a decision right now.**

Okay first of all, why the hell is it called "Castles in the Air?" I don't see anything even metaphorically close to a castle in that horoscope. And being the nerd I am I'm usually able to notice those types of things.

And what am I going to promise? This doesn't make sense!

Guess I'll find out later. The day isn't over yet.

The doorbell rings. "Mommy! I want a peppy cola!" a high-pitched voice screams outside.

I cringe. Oh god. Tracy's here. This is where the torture begins.

* * *

**Jade's POV**

"Jade!" my dad roars from the living room as I get ready to leave the house. "If you steal any more money from my wallet again, I'm going to ship you off to Canada along with that prissy little boyfriend of yours!"

I roll my eyes at him. Typical dad-like answer- always filled with empty threats. "Whatever, Dad. First of all, he's not my boyfriend anymore; we broke up months ago! And second of all, maybe I wouldn't have to steal money from you if you got off your lazy ass and fed me!"

"You better leave, you ungrateful little bitch! I swear you're just like your mother!" I push the door shut with a _crash! _before I become a victim of one of his rants again.

I hate his guts. No wonder my mom left him and moved to Phoenix, Arizona to live with her sister; he's a monster.

At least my mom loves me- or so I thought she did. I just wish she would've loved me enough to take me with her five years ago when she divorced my dad and left. We still keep in contact and everything, but I haven't seen her since she came to my middle school graduation four years ago.

What a fucked-up home life I have.

I get into my car and start driving to the RV that I haven't seen since we broke up- Beck's. I didn't want to do this at first, but after the fiasco that happened yesterday, I feel like I have to. I owe Beck that much.

Wait, what do I owe Beck? _He _broke up with _me_! I should be whacking his face with a stick, not confiding in him. But I guess since my constant jealousy and ungratefulness caused him to break up with me in the first place, I suppose it's my time to do a favor for him- or a disservice, for that matter, once he finds out that Andre wrote a song for me while we were still dating.

I clearly remember the hellhole of a week I had after that disastrous poker night at Tori's house. We had a huge, screaming text fight that had me crying in my room all night. Then, he ignored me the whole weekend when I tried to work it out with him.

Once holiday break was over, he refused to talk on Tuesday to me until the end of school. Then, he gave me the whole breakup speech. He said that we were "too different" and that he "didn't want to hurt me anymore" by arguing with me all the time. I almost cried when he said, "I still love you, Jade, but you're just not the same girl I fell in love with- not anymore."

I had secretly hoped that he was kidding, that it was all one big, giant nightmare that would go away as soon as I woke up, but it wasn't. Jade West was actually getting dumped in front of the whole school.

Being the tough girl I am, I didn't cry in front of him. Instead, feeling all eyes pointed directly at me, I agreed that the breakup was mutual and returned to him the necklace he gave me after we first started dating. I told him that it hurt too much to look at it; it reminded me that he had given up on me. We told each other that everything we had told each other- about our personal lives and problems- was true, and then I shook my head in disappointment and left the school.

However, when no one was around, I dashed to my car and started hyperventilating. Soon enough, my frantic gasps of air gave in to gut-wrenching sobs that took over my entire body. Once I got home, I ran up to my room and hid in the bathroom all night as the pain of rejection and the grief of losing someone I loved more than anything in the world spilled out of me.

I cried for days. At school, I put up a façade, saying that I was fine and ready to move on, but I was a complete mess at home. It was the worst week of my life, but I got over it. If I can put up with my jerk of a dad and my criminal of a brother, I can survive this. I will not let anyone, not even a stupid boy, break me.

It is dark and chilly outside when I pull up to Beck's driveway. From all the lights on in his RV, I can tell that he is home. Without thinking twice, I storm up to the entrance to his RV and bang on his door.

I wait for a few seconds before the door opens and an ever-so-handsome-looking Beck peeks around the tiny, metal door. Surprised to see me after months of refusing to visit his RV, his eyes widen. "Jade…" he stammers. "What are you doing here?"

I push my way past him and sit on his bed. He stands in front of me and crosses his arms. "What's going on?"

I take a deep breath and exhale slowly, mentally preparing myself for his reaction. "I need to tell you something."

* * *

**Robbie's POV**

"Robbie, let's pretend to be fairies!"

It has been an hour since Tracy arrived and Cat still isn't here yet. I'm going to be so mad at her if she doesn't come. She has no idea how much I hate babysitting my cousin.

I sigh in frustration. "No, Tracy, we've played fairies three times already! And you screamed and cried every time Rex said something about fairies being stupid."

"Your puppet isn't nice to me! He's a meanie!" She pouts and runs across the living room floor to the couch. "I want mommy!" She buries her head in the navy-colored couch cushions.

"Mommy and Aunty Deedee aren't going to be home for another two hours," I said with a little tension in my voice. I'm trying to be nice, but I don't know how much longer I can put up with her whining.

"How about we play pirates?" I take out my eye patch that I had stuffed into my pocket earlier today and put it over my glasses. "Arrrrrgh!"

"Aaah!" she wails. "No! You're a mean pirate! Get away from me!" She runs away and locks herself in the bathroom. Damnnit- I should've remembered that she hates playing pirates with me.

Weird. So does Cat. That's one thing they have in common.

Speaking of Cat, is she coming or not? She hasn't texted me since last night and I'm worried about her. She's been acting really bizarre lately- almost as odd as Sinjin. Maybe I shouldn't have asked her to help me if something was bugging her already. Maybe I should've just given her some space.

To my delight, the doorbell rings. "Tracy, I have a surprise for you!" I yell to her, hoping that she can hear me, and run to the door to greet Cat, who is holding a huge pink bag filled with a bunch of toys. She is dressed in a ivory-colored dress with cupcakes all over it, and her hair frames her face perfectly. She is absolutely beautiful, as usual.

"Hi Robbie!" She waves at me excitedly. "I brought a bunch of things for the three of us to do tonight!"

"Why are you late? I thought you said you would be here an hour ago."

She immediately looks guilty. "I'm sorry, but Jade called me and we talked for a while about what was going on between her, Beck, and Andre."

"What happened between Jade and Andre? No one seems to know."

"I'll tell you later." She brushes it off and sets her bag down on the couch. "Now where's Tracy?"

"She locked herself in the bathroom," I respond.

"You tried playing pirates with her again, didn't you?" she questions me.

"Well you won't play with me!"

"Because I don't like the way you play pirates! And neither does Tracy!" she exclaims.

I sigh in defeat. "Point taken. I'll go get Tracy out of the bathroom."

Before I can even make a move towards the door, she bursts out of the bathroom and gives Cat a bone-crushing hug. "Yay! Kitty! You came to play with us!"

I smile at the mention of Tracy's nickname for her. I called Cat "kitty" around Tracy because that was originally my personal nickname for her. Cat thinks it's cute.

"Awww, I missed you too, Tracy!" Cat cooes, returning the hug. "Look what I brought!" She pulls out a Hannah Montana doll out of her bag and hands it to Tracy. She takes it in her tiny hands and tugs on the string in the back, which makes the doll burst out into the lyrics of "Best of Both Worlds."

I smile at their interaction. Does Cat know little kids or not?

"I love it! Thanks, Kitty!" she cries out in excitement and runs up the stairs that lead to the second floor. "Come on, guys, let's play with my dollhouse!"

I look at Cat in awe. "How did you-"

She laughs at me. "C'mon, let's go!" she says and pulls me up the stairs behind her.

* * *

**Narrator's POV**

Meanwhile, Tori sat on her couch gnawing on a pretzel stick as she listened to Andre's story about what happened with Jade the other day. "So wait… you told Jade about _365 Days _and she didn't hurt you?"

"Nope. Well, she almost did, but that was because I startled her when I said that the song was about her. It was a defense reflex."

"And…she said she _understood_ how you felt?" Tori looked at him in shock.

Andre leaned back casually on the other sofa. "True chizz."

"But she doesn't have an understanding bone in her body!"

"Exactly what I was thinking!" Andre exclaimed. "It was just so…surreal. Like she had become a different person for those ten minutes. And she admitted that she was still in love with Beck."

"So that's a good thing, right? All we have to do is get them back together!"

"Whoa whoa whoa, stop right there, girl." Andre put his hands up in the air and got off the sofa. "Let them work out their chizz themselves this time. Remember the last time you got involved in one of their arguments? Jade stabbed your shoulder with a pencil."

"It wasn't that bad! It stopped bleeding eventually!" Tori protested.

"I'm just saying that we shouldn't get involved this time, okay?"

"Why don't you want to get in-" Tori stopped mid-sentence and stared at Andre in shock. "Oh my god- you don't still have a crush on her, do you?"

"No, of course not!" he denied. "I like someone else now, okay? Let's just go back to watching _Celebrities Underwater _and enjoy the rest of our night."

"Oh, you're not getting off the hook so easily, Andre!" Tori reached over and yanked on his arm, causing him to stumble and land on the sofa next to her. "Who do you like? I'm really good at getting couples together!"

"I'm not telling you this time."

"Why not?!" Tori gasped dramatically. "We tell each other everything!"

"I just CAN'T, okay?!" Andre yelled. "Just leave me alone!"

He put his head in his hands and moaned as Tori comfortingly rubbed his back. He wished he could tell her, but he didn't want to ruin their friendship by revealing his feelings to her.

He didn't want her to know that he had been in love with her ever since the day he dumped Hope.

* * *

**Robbie's POV**

"Ohhhh my god," Cat moans as she takes a delicate bite out of one of the red velvet cupcakes the three of us had iced together. "Robbie, you need to give me your recipe- these are amazing!"

She stuffs the rest of it in her mouth hungrily before plopping down next to my exhausted figure on the couch. "But mine are still better."

"Says who?" I tease her.

"Me, of course!" she sang happily. Babysitting Tracy went surprisingly well after Cat gave her the Hannah Montana doll. No more tantrums, complaining, or crying- and most important of all, no hitting me in the groin like she did last time. She may be little, but she sure is feisty. Her kick left a bruise there the size of a baseball! "So what do you wanna do now that Tracy's gone?"

Finally being allowed to reveal the surprise I had up my sleeve, I smile at her and pull the movie out from behind one of the couch pillows. "I thought we could watch the last TwiHeart movie together- you know, the one you said you meant to go see but never got the chance?"

She gasps. "_Breaking Dusk_ finally came out on DVD? Eeeeeep!" She tackles me on the couch and practically lies on top of me as she hugs me. "Thank you thank you thank you!"

My face heats up as I feel her body heat disappear and she goes to put the movie into the DVD player. "Anytime, Cat," I say softly. "Anytime."

I dust myself off and go make us some popcorn as the opening credits roll. I'm not really a big vampire/werewolf fan, but if Cat likes it, I'm willing to suffer through it as long as she's with me.

It doesn't take too long for her to get completely absorbed in the movie. By the halfway point, she is hunching forward at the waist and gazing intently at the screen. I zone out while she's watching it, pondering over my perplexing horoscope once or twice, but near the end of the movie, something tells me that I'm not the only one distracted. I hear a faint sniffling sound beside me and out of the corner of my eye, I see Cat blinking rapidly and wiping the corners of her eyes with her fingertips.

Confused, I look at the TV screen. Oh look, the happy vampire family survived the impending doom. Of course they did. Charming.

Biting back my sarcasm, I sense that this was a happy ending to the movie. If that's the case… then why is Cat crying?

"Hey." I lay a hand on her exposed shoulder gently and she jumps, startled at my touch. "Are you okay?"

"I'm… I'm fine," she stutters. She then puts a fake smile on her face. "Wow, some movie, huh?! I love vampires!" she exclaims and hops off the couch in a hurry. "I have to go!"

Okay… she's starting to worry me now. Something's definitely wrong. "Cat!" Before she can escape, I grab her waist from behind and pull her back. She wriggles in my grasp and tears start to pour down her face. By the time I let her go, her head collapses in her lap and she begins to sob. "I…just…miss…him…so…much."

"Who, Cat? What happened?" I rub her back, trying to calm her down. "Tell me."

She lifts her head up to look at me. "My brother. He's in Idaho getting special treatment from special doctors."

"How long has he been there for? And how come you never told me?" I ask. She glances down in shame. "I thought we told each other everything."

"For a while now. I don't know, maybe a year or so. And you're the first to know about this. I didn't want it to go around the whole school or anything by telling a whole bunch of people about it- even my friends." She pokes my stomach playfully and giggles before looking sad again. "My parents just left to visit him today and they left me at home."

Ouch. That's a hard decision to make. Idaho is kind of far from Los Angeles. Who knows how long she would have stayed down there before we saw her again if she had went with her parents. "I'm sorry, Cat. I'm sure you'll see your brother again soon. Who are you staying with?"

"…No one. I'm on my own."

Wait… WHAT?

I stare at her in shock. "Cat… I can't let you do that."

"Why not?" She gave me a puzzled look. "I can take care of myself."

"That's not what I'm concerned about." I put a hand on her knee and make sure she's looking my way. "Do you know how dangerous it is for a young girl to be alone in the house? If people found out you had no parental supervision, you may be in trouble."

Her eyes bulge and she immediately appears scared. "Like what?"

"Oh, I don't know," I say sarcastically, "burglars, rape, murderers, drunken parties, people who want to take advantage of you, social services…"

She stares at me blankly. Oh gosh; she has the mind of a child. I almost forgot about that. "Those are all very bad things," I say slowly. "I don't want you to get hurt, that's all."

Her expression softens. "Thanks, Robbie," she says. "That's really sweet of you. But I don't have a place to stay."

_Come live with me; I'll keep you safe_.

The thought pops into my head as if a light bulb had gone off in my mind. It sounds like a dream come true. Since she was in my thoughts all day all the time anyway, why not have her stay with my family? That way, she would have a support system and I would have a companion besides Rex. Everyone wins.

But then, I groan inwardly. _Shit. The horoscope._ It told me not to make any hasty decisions if I still had doubts. Which, unfortunately, I do.

First of all, as much as my parents love Cat, I don't think they would let her live with us. Since they're always working and barely have time to even look after me, I doubt they'd take the time to coddle Cat like she was used to at her house.

Also, given how big of a crush I have on her… the living arrangements would be awkward. My house is pretty small, so she would have to be my roommate. She would have to take showers and change and put makeup on… The possibilities of something awkward happening are endless.

So that's why I'm not going to give her that option; as much as I'd like it to work out, there's a good chance I'll end up disappointing her in the end with my parents' disapproval. "We'll find you somewhere to stay, Cat. Do you have any relatives?"

"I have my Nona, but she moved to Venice, Italy months ago."

Strange, because I saw her just days ago at the grocery store buying medicine for her plantar warts. Ew. "Are you sure she didn't mean Venice, California? As hard as that is to believe, it does exist."

"Oh, that makes sense!" she exclaims. "That must be why I saw her at the mall last week! I'll call her tonight and hopefully she'll let me live with her."

I smile, shaking my head amusedly. "Of course she'll let you stay with her. You're her only grandchild besides your brother. She loves you more than she loves herself."

"Yay! A happy ending!" A dinging sound rings from her pocket, and she checks her phone to see who's calling her. "Oh, it's Jade! I have to take this! Thanks for everything, Robbie!" And with a quick peck on the cheek, she's gone.

Of course. It's so like her to give me mixed signals. Yes, I like the sweet gestures and everything, but they just get confusing after a while.

I sigh loudly and start cleaning up the cupcake wrappers, the mess of toys on the floor, and the popcorn bowl. As much as I hate to believe it, maybe my horoscope was right; it was probably a good choice not to have her stay with me.

* * *

**Narrator's POV**

As soon as Cat closed Robbie's apartment door, she whipped out her phone and answered the incoming call. "Jadey! What's up? I just left from babysitting Robbie's cousin and-"

She shut up as Jade interrupted her once again. "Wait, why is he going to Tori's house?"

_"I told him something he didn't like, and he said he wanted to 'have a little chat' with Andre."_

"What?! Why are you telling me this now?" Cat yelped.

_"I need you to text Tori or Andre and warn them to be ready when the doorbell rings. He's not happy. Not at all."_

"Okay, bye Jade!" She vowed to text them as soon as she got home.

However, as she walking home that night, the millions of stars twinkling in the clear sky distracted her, and she soon forgot about her promise to Jade.

_At the same time…_

The doorbell rang throughout the Vega household. Tori and Andre had tried watching an all-night marathon of _Celebrities Underwater_ and their determination to watch the whole marathon had diminished. Tori's head was lying on Andre's lap while Andre's head kept falling backwards until he realized he was falling asleep and woke up instantly.

"Andre," Tori moaned, barely awakening from her slumber and waving her hand towards the door. "Get it."

Tori's head fell off of his lap as he got up and she groaned. She was just so tired. Who the heck would come visit her at midnight?

Half-awake, Andre stumbled towards the door and opened it. It took him a while to register who was standing right in front of him. "Beck?"

Tori's head snapped up, and she watched as Beck gave Andre a cold, hard stare. "I need to talk to you outside. Now."

"But-"

"Let. Tori. Sleep. This is none of her business at the moment." The harshness in his tone, unlike anything Andre had heard from him before, made him quake with fear.

He looked back anxiously at Tori, who was pretending that she had fallen back asleep, and gulped. "Let's take this outside, then."

The door shut behind them, leaving Tori tossing and turning in the dim light of the television. Two minutes later, Sunday morning arrived.

What a chaotic day it had been.

* * *

_So I have a couple of fun facts for you this time…_

_#1: I referenced a really old Hannah Montana episode in this chapter (where she tries out to be a cheerleader but ends up being the mascot instead). It was the first one I ever watched and after watching it, I was instantly hooked onto the show until it ended._

_#2: The whole breakup scene I described between Beck and Jade? Almost the exact thing that happened to me exactly a week ago, excluding the poker night and the "You're not the same girl I fell in love with," quote. The actual thing he said to me was "I still care about you a lot, but you're just not the girl for me." And yes, it hurt as badly as I have described it. Hooray for writing as a form of therapy!_

_#3: Anyone noticed I put a little of "Star-Spangled Tori" in there for ya? I thought it made the chapter a lot more interesting and really developed Robbie and Cat's relationship to an extent not shown on the show._

_#4: I just realized I messed up the horoscope order! Whoops! From now on, Robbie will be on SATURDAYS, not Sundays (which will be Cat's day instead). Sorry about the mixup! I'll change the one chapter as soon as I can!_

_Next chapter will (hopefully)be up soon! Now I gotta go study for finals and a chem. quiz… Yuck._


	8. Beck Spirals Out Of Control

_Good news, everyone! Guess what? First of all, completely over my ex now. It's been a month since the breakup and this is the best I've felt in a long time. I've forgotten how awesome it feels to be single! Second of all, all the advertising disappeared from the astrology website and the program is back! And now the story continues! :D What happened during the fight between Beck and Andre? I guess you'll find out…now!_

* * *

**Beck's POV**

_"I'm gonna pop some tags, only got twenty dollars in my pocket…"_

I jolt awake at the blaring sound of my phone playing "Thrift Store." I groan and open my bleary, tired eyes. "Where's my damn phone…" I mutter to myself.

I flail my hand around and sigh in relief as my fingers close around my Pearphone, which is wedged in between two of my pillows. What is it doing there? I don't even remember. Everything happened so fast yesterday that I collapsed as soon as I got home.

As soon as I take a glimpse at the caller ID, I groan again. Of course. Only _she _would call me at 3 AM in the morning just to tell me some random story about a crazy dream that she didn't want to forget. Trust me, it has happened before. Last week, she left me a five minute voicemail describing her journey to Narnia and how she met a magical unicorn that led her to Aslan, who was waiting for her in the middle of a field of cotton candy.

It was very bizarre, to say the least.

I put my phone on speaker and flop back down on my bed. I nuzzle my face in my pillow, wishing that I could go back to sleep. "What's up, Cat?"

_"Beck! Can you switch days with me? Pleeeeease?"_

"Hmm, I don't know. Depends on what exactly you're talking about." I feel bad about giving her sarcasm, but I'm just not an early riser. Especially at 3 in the freaking morning.

_"I just looked at my horoscope and it says that I have to contemplate something that happened in my dream and act upon it! What does that even mean?"_

Oh god, not another crazy dream story. "Maybe it's trying to tell you that your dream means something, Cat. For example, if in your dream you failed a test, it might mean that you're scared of failing at something in real life."

I was thinking of telling her about the dream that I had last night, but it involved a lot of R-rated material, if you get what I'm saying. Something about fighting and Jade and making out and…well, you get the picture. I don't think her innocent little mind would be able to take all of that in just yet.

_"Ohhh, okay! But I didn't dream about failing a test, though."_

I sigh and brace myself for what crazy story she was about to tell me. "What was it about?"

_"I dreamt that we were doing a school play, and Robbie and I had a stage kiss. He was supposed to kiss me first, but I was so anxious about it that I kissed him first instead!"_

Whoa. Definitely didn't see that coming. But then again, it doesn't really surprise me. Everyone knows Robbie has a huge crush on Cat. Even my grandma knows (she follows his tweets on TheSlap for some reason) and she has only met him once! It was only a matter of time before Cat made the feelings mutual.

I secretly feel glad that she can't see the smirk on my face right now. "Let me ask you something, Cat… Do you like Robbie?"

_"Yes! We are the best of friends," _she giggles into the phone. Cue the face-palm.

"No, that's not really what I meant. Can you see yourself dating Robbie?"

She pauses before responding. _"No…maybe… I don't know, Beck! I don't like him like that! He's just a friend!"_

"Oh yeah, someone who's just a friend kisses you at a school dance. And you run away instead of turning him down."

_"I didn't want to hurt his feelings!_" I laugh as she growls (which sounds more like a high-pitched squeak through the phone) in frustration. _"It's complicated."_

"Relationships are just complicated in general, Cat," I tell her, subconsciously thinking back to my relationship with Jade over the past four years. It has been a rocky road indeed. "I say give yourself some time to think over how you feel about him. Then, when you are sure about what you want to do, tell him instead of giving him mixed signals all the time, okay?"

_"Okay, I'll do it! But that horoscope was too short," _she grumbles, her voice suddenly turning to static in my ear. My RV doesn't get very good reception; I must be losing the connection. _"Will you still switch days with me? Just this one time?"_

"If I do, can I go back to sleep?" I yawn.

_"Of course, silly!"_

"Hey, I gotta go, I'm losing reception and-"

_"Ooooh, a massage chair that floats on water! That's so cool! Byeeeee!" *Click*_

"And she's gone." I sigh to myself and snuggle under the covers again. "And now I can go back to sleep."

* * *

**Robbie's POV**

_Dear Diary,_

_Well, yesterday was my day to follow my horoscope, and the whole experience was a lot different than I was expecting it to be. I originally thought that this whole "following the stars" thing you talked to us about, Sikowitz, was a bunch of chizz. But now that I've actually experienced it… you may be right; maybe the stars do somehow predict your future._

_On Friday, my mom asked me to babysit my cousin Tracy over the weekend while she was out with my aunt. Not wanting to be alone with the she-devil, I asked Cat to help me since I know she's good with kids (since she practically is still one herself). Before she came over, I looked at my horoscope, and it told me that I shouldn't make any hasty decisions because it could hurt me in the end. I didn't know what the cheese it was talking about until Tracy left and Cat started randomly crying during a movie we watched afterwards. I asked her what was wrong and she told me that she was living alone because her parents took her brother to a special hospital in Idaho. I was then going to offer her to come live with me until her parents get back, but because of many reasons I don't care to explain, I decided not to promise something I couldn't keep._

_I kind of have mixed feelings about the whole thing. I would've loved to spend more time with her because she's my best friend and I may have a little crush on her._

_Okay, make that a big crush. Could be true love, even. I don't know. But that's beside the point._

_Hold on, I'm getting a call…_

_Huh. It's Cat. Wonder what she wants._

_….._

_I'm back. Well good news; Cat's going to live with her Nona. Definitely happy that she has someone to take care of her now. I would've been worried sick if she was alone in a dark house every day for a year or two._

_But she asked me to meet her at school today, and it's a Sunday. We don't even have school on the weekends… so why would she want me to meet her at her locker at school?_

_Ugh, why does everything have to be so damn confusing?_

* * *

**Beck's POV**

Six hours later, I finally get the wake-up call that I usually get in the morning: the sunlight streaming through my tinted windows and birds chirping outside, which I find weird because it's winter here in LA. Shouldn't the birds be flying to the south for the winter or something? Who knows; maybe Los Angeles is warm enough for them.

I sit up in my bed and rub my eyes, trying to rid them of sleep. My head hurts and I feel a faint throbbing sensation in my right eye. That's odd. I hope I'm not getting sick or anything. I don't get sick very often, but when I do it takes forever to go away. Last year, I had a sinus infection for two weeks and had to stay home from school. It was torture.

Let's just say that after a couple of excruciating migraine headaches, millions of tissues, and no kissing Jade because I didn't want her to catch it from me, I was not a happy camper.

I go into my bathroom to brush my teeth, but I do a double-take after seeing my reflection in the mirror. Now I can see what's causing the pain in my eye- my whole eyelid is rimmed with a dark purple bruise. I glance down at my hands and I see tiny bruises on my right knuckles. My hair is all over the place and I look utterly exhausted.

I look like I have been in a street fight. What the hell happened last night?

Then, I remember everything- Jade coming to my RV last night, her telling me about Andre's little crush, me going down to Tori's house to talk to him.

Yeah, that didn't go as well as I had hoped it would.

_*Flashback*_

_"I'm going to go talk to him," I growled, gritting my teeth and heading for the door. "I'm going to set that sucker straight."_

_"No, Beck! I get that what he did was wrong, but you don't have to hurt him because of it!" Jade shouted in desperation._

_"You don't just hit on your best friend's girl and get away with it, Jade! How would you feel if Tori was crushing on me while we were dating? You would rip her head off."_

_"I'm still convinced she was! But look at me- I was able to control myself and she's still alive."_

_Her eyes lit up with an evil glint and she smiled coyly at me. "Wait a second… is robot Beck finally jealous? Whoa, wait a second here, I need to take a mental snapshot of this moment and cherish it forever."_

_I glared at her. "No need to be rude, ba- Jade. You've got to work on your people skills!"_

_"Don't try and change the subject!" She crossed her arms in front of her and stepped in front of me, blocking my path towards the door. "Look, maybe I shouldn't have come over here and told you about Andre if I knew you were going to act like this. I don't want you to hurt him. I told you because I felt like I owe you one. You put up with my jealousy and you told me the truth about everything, so I figured this was the least I could do for you."_

_"So let me get this straight… You apologize for trying to murder every girl I talk to by attempting to make me jealous?"_

_"For the last time, I'm not trying to make you jealous!" she screeched. "I was just trying to do you a favor!"_

_I laughed bitterly. "Yeah, some favor that was. Don't worry, I won't hurt him. We're just going to have a little chat, that's all."_

_My phone bleeped and I looked at the status update that had just appeared on my screen. __**Watching Celebrities Underwater with Tori. Hope Robert DeNiro wins this round! Or at least not drown, that is… Mood: Entertained**_

_Andre's Slap update. Perfect timing. "Now if you excuse me, I have some business to take care of," I said coldly, and pushed past her until I was out of the RV._

_No one, not even one of my best friends, hits on my girl and gets away with it._

_*End Flashback*_

Okay, I admit I may have overreacted a little bit. Maybe seeing Jade in my RV was like déjà vu all over again and it messed with my head. As much as I hated our arguments, I miss her. I try to become attracted to other girls, but it's just not the same; they're too easy, throwing themselves at me without a doubt in their minds. And I think easy is boring.

I guess hearing that Andre had a crush on her made me go wonky in the head, as he would say. I replay how I broke up with her every day and try to figure out where I went wrong. I've never seen her that crushed and depressed in my life. I didn't mean to break her heart- I just wanted what was best for us. If arguing with each other all the time was making us miserable and tearing us apart…then wouldn't it make sense for us _not _to be together and find other people?

I still care about her. I want her to be happy. And if I can't make her happy, so be it. After everything she has been through, she deserves to find someone that will make her feel special, like she is the only thing in his life that he can't live without.

Like I told Cat hours ago… it's just complicated. The ultimate question is this: Do we hurt each other more by being in a relationship or throwing everything we had away just to salvage a friendship that is even tougher to maintain?

Now that I put it that way, I know which choice is the right one to pick.

I need Jade back in my life. I don't know how I'm going to do it yet, but I will get her to fall in love with me again.

Because after everything we have been through together, we just can't coexist like we are trying to do now. It's just too painful.

Speaking of pain and overreacting, I need to apologize to Andre when we go back to school. He probably feels as bad, physically and emotionally, right now as I do.

_*Flashback*_

_I stormed up to the Vega's front door and knocked vigorously, hoping that Andre or Tori would answer. Luckily for me, Andre was the one to do so._

_"Beck?" He stared at me, wide-eyed. _

_"I need to talk to you. Now," I ordered._

_"But-" _

_"Let. Tori. Sleep. This is none of her business at the moment," I seethed. I was so worked up that I could practically feel steam coming out of my ears._

_Andre looked back at Tori and then turned back to me. "Let's take this outside then."_

_As soon as he shut the door, I led him to a light post standing next to the sidewalk. The air was damp and more humid than usual, making me feel even more uncomfortable and irritated than I already was. I walked underneath the light and leaned against the concrete post, and the light shone on me as if I was in a spotlight._

_"So what's up, bro?" Andre asked nervously. "You look kinda peeved of."_

_"Well, I'm sure you would be peeved off too if you found out that your best friend had a crush on your girlfriend while you were dating."_

_He stared at me in shock, and then he scowled. "Jade told you, didn't she? I can't believe she'd rat me out like that!"_

_"Ah-hah!" I pointed my finger accusingly at him. " So you admit it."_

_"Dude, you know me; I don't lie. I just didn't tell you about it because I knew you would get all possessive and react like this!" He tensed up and furrowed his eyebrows as if he was thinking about something. "Wait a second… why would you care now if I liked her? You two broke up months ago."_

_"I don't care now if you like her. You can ask her out, for all I care! But the fact that you felt this way and never told me about it makes me mad. Sure, I may have been a little irritated if you had told me earlier while we were dating, but you kept it from me instead."_

_"Well, I'm sorry that I didn't know what the heck to do!" he shouted. "You know how I get when I get all wonky. I can't think, I can't focus on anything, and I start talking gibberish."_

_I paused for a moment. He's right; I've been friends with him for years now. I should've known that something was up and talked to him about it instead of yelling at him like this. _

_I pulled my leather jacket over my shoulders and zipped it up. "Look Andre, I'm sorry. A lot has been on my mind lately and it's making me go nuts."_

_"I can see that," he said bluntly. "You still like Jade."_

_"How could you tell?"_

_"I see you staring at her all the time, first of all. You reject all the girls who ask you out. Plus, since you guys dated for three years, I assumed that it would take you a long time to get over her."_

_After seeing the look on my face, he shook his head in disbelief. "You're never going to get over her, are you?"_

_I sighed and walked towards him. "I don't know, Andre. I just don't know. I'm starting to think that she's the only girl for me. My other half. And until I get her back, I feel like the only way I'm going to feel better is if I hit something."_

_To my surprise, he reluctantly turns his shoulder turns me. "Go ahead. Take a swing at me. I was the one who crushed on your girl in the first place. And wrote her a song."_

_"What?!" I yelped. Jade didn't tell me that! In a fit of rage, I punched him. Things would've worked out so much better if I hadn't accidentally nailed him in the jaw instead of his shoulder like I meant to do._

_"Ow!" he cried out. "What the hell was that for?" I was then whacked unexpectedly in the eye._

_"You little…" I kicked him hard in the shin and we literally started wrestling on the sidewalk. It seemed like we had worked out our problems before we beat each other up, but that's what boys do: they settle fights with physical assault. After that, we agreed that we needed to get some sleep and let each other cool down before talking again._

_Now that I think about it…did the fight really solve anything?_

_Nope. It just made everything worse._

_*End Flashback*_

I made a huge mistake that night. I jeopardized our friendship by letting my anger get the best of me. I had no reason to be mad at him; matter of fact, I was angrier at myself for screwing everything up with Jade. But I didn't realize that until it was too late.

Well, this black eye isn't going to go away on its own. Guess the male makeup Robbie gave me for Christmas last year will actually be useful. No way would I go out in public with a black eye; people would just stare and ask me questions. I don't want to have to put up with all that when I'm still feeling like shit.

I squeeze some of the cover-up on my fingers and smear it gently around my eye, grimacing when I pressed a little too hard on the sore spots. I'm sure Robbie would love to see me now and I say "I told you so!"

Then, my phone buzzes in my pocket, scaring the crap out of me and almost making me pour the entire bottle of cover-up down my shirt. I curse under my breath and look to see who it is.

_Sikowitz: Beck, it's your turn to read your horoscope today! Good luck and may coconuts bring happiness to your life!_

_Beck: But Sikowitz… you know today is Cat's day, right?_

_Sikowitz: I know that, but my psychic powers told me that you and Cat decided to switch days, which I will allow this one time. But only this time!_

_Beck: Really Sikowitz? Psychic powers?_

_Sikowitz: …Okay, Cat called me at 4 in the morning to tell me. Don't be such a cranky pants._

_Beck: Okay… well I'm going to go now. See ya tomorrow, teach._

_Sikowitz: I'm going to go take a bubble bath!_

_Beck: Have fun?_

_Sikowitz: Oh, I will!_

I end the conversation there since it was just getting weird. As much as I love Sikowitz, all those coconuts he eats seem to be affecting him, and not in a good way.

Without further ado, I enter my information into my phone:

_Full Name: Beckett Oliver_

_Birth Date: October 8, 1994_

_Birth Time: 6:13 PM_

_Birth City: Los Angeles_

_Birth State: California_

_Birth Country: United States_

A few seconds later, my horoscope pops up.

**Libido Alert!: To say that your personal magnetism is running on high would be unfair, and not entirely accurate. The truth is, you're far more powerful than a magnet because you won't repel anyone, no matter which direction you turn toward. Keep that in mind before you 'casually' begin flirting.**

Out of all the horoscopes I could possibly get, of course I have to get one that sounds like it's in a foreign language. First of all, I have no idea what the heck "libido" means. Second of all… "personal magnetism"? I guess that's some sort of fancy term for being egotistic- which I'm not, for the most part. Or at least I don't try to be.

And I _am _repelling people. I've rejected many, many girls over the past couple of months, I'm in the process of hurting my friendship with Andre, and I'm refusing to get back with Jade because… actually, I don't know why anymore.

Maybe, in a way, it's urging me to get Jade back. And that's exactly what I aim to do.

Time to put my plan into action.

* * *

**Narrator's POV**

The door to Hollywood Arts creaked open silently and an awkward, lanky figure tiptoed into the building. It was a sunny day in Los Angeles with the sun shining brightly through the windows, but the school seemed eerily desolate, given that it was the weekend and there were no students roaming the halls like they were during the week.

He didn't want to be here; the emptiness creeped him out. But when a girl calls him up at 7 in the morning- especially one that he likes a lot- and says that she wants to talk to him about something important, it's extremely hard for him to say no.

"Robbie, is that you?" a voice whispered in the shadows. Suddenly, he found himself yanked into the obscure corner near Cat's locker.

"Holy crap, Cat!" he wheezed, putting a hand to his chest. "You scared me! I thought you were some weirdo trying to murder me."

"Hehe, I was pretending to play cops and robbers! You were the robber and I was the cop, and I caught you!" She then ordered him to put his hands behind his back. "You're under arrest, Robert Shapiro."

"Cat…" He sighed in exasperation and refused to play along. "Did you really wake me up so I could come play a game with you while possibly getting in trouble for breaking into Hollywood Arts?"

"No…" Her face fell. "I'm sorry, I got distracted. Going undercover is just so fun!"

He laughed along. "It's okay, I understand. So what's up?"

"Remember how we made a deal the other day? If I helped you babysit Tracy you'd have to do something for me?"

He scratched the back of his neck, suddenly looking anxious. Considering Cat's random personality, who knew what crazy things she would make him do? "Yes, I remember. What do I have to do for you?"

"You have to wear a pajelehoocho with me tomorrow during school!"

_What did she just say?_ His hand dropped from behind his neck. "A jelly-who?"

"A pajelehoocho!" she exclaimed excitedly. "They're jeans, leggings, a hoodie, and a poncho all in one! Here, I'll show you a picture on my PearPod."

She whipped out her phone and showed him a picture from the website. As soon as he saw the outfit, he crinkled his nose. "Really? They look more like lame superhero outfits to me."

"Hurtful!" She slapped him on his bicep, which was a little harder than she thought it would be. If only she knew that he had started working out at a fitness center just to impress her. "Don't insult the pajelehoochos like that! They have feelings too."

He was about to retort back at her but decided against it as soon as he saw the hurt look on her face. "Okay," he said reluctantly. "I'll wear the pajelehoocho with you tomorrow."

"Yay!" she squealed. She pulled a pajelehoocho out of her big, pink purse and shoved it in his arms. "That'll be $19.95, please."

He stared at her like she was crazy. "But I thought you said they were free?"

"They are," Cat giggled and threw her hands up in the air. "Free shipping!"

* * *

**Beck's POV**

After eating a nice breakfast of pancakes and bacon (freezer version, of course; I'm too broke and feeling too lazy to go out and eat now), I send out a couple of texts and lounge on my bed, not knowing what to do next. I see a college brochure out of the corner of my eye at the foot of my bed, and I lean down to pick it up.

Ah, Julliard. Every musician/singer/actor's dream. The college that I want to go to so badly but can't because I don't have the money to pay for it. I'm still waiting to hear back from them about financial aid after I sent in my application, but so far nothing yet.

Thank you parents for ruining my college career by not saving any money towards it. I appreciate the thought so much.

I toss the brochure into the wasteland of my garbage can, which is filled with crumpled-up pieces of paper and snack bags. I really need to clean my room soon; the messiness is getting on my nerves.

Finally, after languishing in a half hour of boredom, the doorbell rings. I take my time getting off my bed and dusting myself off. Eventually, I hear a bang outside and someone shout "Beck! I know you all are in there. Stop messing with me and open the damn door!"

I smirk a little bit, reveling in the fact that she had actually showed up, and opened the door to see her shivering in a red tank top, black leather jacket, and black leggings. Her jet black hair and blue highlights blew in the breeze as she stared me down with her irritated, ocean-colored eyes. "Sounds like someone woke up a bit touchy today," I comment.

She squints at me and then peers around the corner. "Where's everyone else? You said we were all meeting her to hang and then go to Nozu."

And that, my friends, is where my plan starts to unfold.

* * *

_I'm soooo sorry I updated so late again! I was originally going to put it up last weekend, but I became really busy and then school slammed me right in the face. AP Chemistry is KILLING me right now, so I apologize for not being able to update because of all the homework and stress that class is giving me._

_Oh, and I changed my mind about the next couple of chapters: Next one will be all Bade (as I'm sure most of you have been waiting so patiently for) and the one after that will be the M-rated Cabbie chapter. And then later on I'll hopefully be able to fit some Tandre in as well, but we'll see._


	9. Here We Go Again

**Beck's POV**

"Beck?" she questions me and groans as we approach the parking lot. "Why are you taking me to a kiddy amusement park?"

I smile. "Because I know you like roller coasters. And this is a pier, not a 'kiddy amusement park.'"

"I know, but look at them." She gestures to the rides lining the sides of the pier as we step onto the wooden boardwalk. A green sign at the entrance greeted us with a _Welcome to Huntington Beach!_ "These are tiny. Pathetic, even. Where are all the steep drops and loops that make you want to puke your stomach out? I like those rides."

Thinking about the nausea that those kinds of rides would entail, I grimace. "Of course you would."

I'm surprised she even agreed to come along with me in the first place. She wasn't happy at all when I told her that the whole "going to Nozu" thing was fake. _"Why…the hell…would you trick me like that, Beck?" _she had growled at me. _"If you don't wipe that cocky look off your face this instant, I swear I will tear your room to pieces with my scissors."_

Taken aback by her anger, I cowered in the corner. _"Well, I didn't think you'd come if you knew it was just you and me. I didn't want you to get the wrong idea." _

I thought I saw her scowl deepen even further, but I must had been imagining it. Curse my wishful thinking. "_You idiot."_ Then, she backed off. _"Probably true, but I'm here now and there's no way I'm going back home."_

"_What happened this time?"_

"_My dad told me to get out of the house or else, and you know how he is when gets mad," _she had said casually. _"Now let's go."_

I didn't ask her any more questions after that. I figured it was too risky to get into personal matters when we were barely on friendly speaking terms. And I found it weird that she didn't ask why I wanted it to be just the two of us spending time together instead of hanging with everyone else.

"So…" she starts. "Why did you go through all that effort to get me alone? Is there something you need to tell me?"

Whoops. Spoke too soon. "Um…" I falter, stopping to scrape some bird poop off my shoe. "I just thought that we should take a shot at hanging out together as friends. You know, the way we were before we started dating. I'm tired of insulting each other every minute and acting like we never existed."

She chews on her bottom lip and looks down at her boots. "Yeah, I kind of missed you too," she mutters. Or at least I think she does. Hopefully it's not wishful thinking again.

I raise my eyebrows and nudge her shoulder playfully. "What did you just say? Jade West has feelings?"

"You touch me again and you won't be able to feel a single bone in your body after I'm done with you."

"Okay, okay, I'm just kidding." I put my hands up in defeat. Trying to find a distraction, I scope out things for us to there. Up a couple of blocks are the roller coasters and the Ferris wheel. To the left of us I see a stand selling lemonade, hot dogs, and churros, and to the right I see a couple of smaller rides such as the Scrambler and the Tilt-a-Whirl. "So what do you want to do now? Want to try out the roller coasters?"

"This early in the morning? I'm going to be freezing my ass off the whole ride!" She fiddles with her thin leather jacket and gives me a pointed look.

Oh geez. This is going to be a challenge. Pleasing Jade West is a hard thing to accomplish. "Okay… wanna grab something to eat then? You were complaining the whole car ride that you were starving."

"Really, Beck? Eating before going on rides? You really need to wake up and smell the roses," she scoffs. "As much as I like gross stuff, I don't feel like emptying my stomach at the moment."

Suddenly, I spot something behind the small rides that I know will pique her interest. "There's also that haunted house over there, but I'm sure you don't want to go on that either." I smirk at her.

"I'm in. Let's go," she says quickly and pulls me towards the house before I can say anything else.

* * *

"Wow," I chuckle as we exit the haunted house. "That was so lame."

"Possibly the worst haunted house I've ever went to," she agrees with me- something that doesn't happen a lot nowadays. "The actors' makeup and fake blood was so overrated!"

"Yeah, they looked more like clowns than flesh-eating zombies to me. Do you remember the one with an ax through his head? You could totally tell that it was just a plastic ax stuck to a headband!"

"I know, that was ridiculous!" she laughs. "The only thing I liked about that ride was the end because they acted out a scene from _The Scissoring_."

"Huh, I didn't see that. I was too busy laughing at the guy who was dancing with the skeleton. What scene was it?"

"The one where Tawnie Hart murders her sister and her perky best friend with her golden-tinted scissors."

"Ah, and Cat gave you those scissors directly from the movie." I nod in understanding.

"Yeah, I got to gloat over the fact that I had the actual scissors and they didn't. And the best part was that the best friend looked a lot like Vega." We order a couple of churros and sit down at a nearby table. "Speaking of Vega, what were she and Andre doing when you went over? Making out in a closet?"

"Nah, she was passed out on the couch. They were watching TV and fell asleep before midnight."

"Wussies." She takes a bite of her churro and licks the cinnamon sugar off her fingers. I grin and shake my head in amusement when she isn't looking. Jade has never been one for manners, but just seeing her do that makes me nostalgic and miss the old dating days. "Andre so has a crush on her."

"How can you tell?"

"It's so obvious! How can you _not _see it? He spends all of his free time with Tori, he writes all these songs about her-"

"Excluding 365 Days," I interrupt bitterly.

"Geez Beck, get over it! And I thought _I_ was the queen of holding grudges." Jade shakes her head and finishes her churro in two bites. When she's done eating, she breaks off half of my untouched churro and stuffs it into her mouth. "Out of all the people in our little group, those two have the most chemistry."

"Really?" I say, surprised. "Have you seen Robbie and Cat? They practically act like they're secretly dating!"

"Tell you what… How about we turn this into a bet? If Tori and Andre get together first, you have to do whatever I want you to do." The corner of her lip turns up coyly, which I have always thought made her look incredibly sexy. "It'll be a surprise."

"Oh yeah? It's on. And if Cat and Robbie get together first, which they _will_," I hear myself saying. Damn, sometimes I wish there was an off switch on my mouth sometimes. "You'll have to do whatever I want you to do. Deal?" I hold out my hand for her to shake.

She pauses for a minute, probably mulling the whole thing over in her head. "Oh, why the hell not? It's a bet." She meets me in the middle and we shake on it.

Leaning back against the metal chair, she kicks her feet up onto the table while I eat what's left of my churro. With one black, manicured nail, she tucks a strand of hair behind her ear and smirks silently. "What?" I ask, confused by the look on her face.

"I just find it funny that we're trying to couple up our friends already when for years we were the only couple existing among them," she says casually.

I take in a sharp breath. This is the first time in a while one of us has subtlety mentioned the breakup or our past romantic relationship to each other. "Yeah, funny," I laugh along tensely, not knowing what else to add to that. "We're like the love doctors now. A couple of months ago, it used to be Tori and Andre."

"I know! I can't believe I threatened them with toilet paper," she laughs. "Now Andre can't go to the bathroom without getting scared and almost wetting his pants." ***(A/N: Just because I referenced "Tori Fixes Beck and Jade" doesn't mean that they're back together, okay? Got it? Good.)**

I sigh, filled with nostalgia. "Good times…"

"Yep. Those were the days."

We sit there in an awkward silence. "So…what do you want to do now? Hit up a roller coaster or two before we head back?"

"Beck, you know that I don't like going on rides right after I eat," Jade groans.

Luckily, I have another way to get her to go on with me. "Oh, so you're saying you're a chicken." I stand up and throw my paper napkin in the trash. I see her fists ball up into fists under the table and her face grow hard. "You're scared of the big, mean roller coasters, Jade?" I know I'm being kind of mean, but Jade is so stubborn sometimes that it's the only way to get her to cave. She hates being called weak.

She stands up and slowly walks toward me, like a lion closing in on its kill. "Don't you _dare_ call me a chicken, pretty boy," she snarls. "I brought my sharpest pair of scissors along with me today and I'm sure that cutting your fluffy hair right off your scalp would make them really happy."

I back up as she approaches me. "Okay, chicken, whatever you say."

"That's it!" she shrieks, and she chases me until we reach The Daredevil, one of the most popular roller coasters on the pier. Once I camouflage myself in the line of people waiting to get on, she stops to catch her breath and looks around.

I don't mean to brag, but you gotta admit- my plan was pretty damn clever. She was too angry with me to even notice where I was planning on going.

She finally recognizes where we are and becomes livid, but to my relief, she surrenders. "I hate you," she mutters and waits with me to get onto the roller coaster.

* * *

**Narrator's POV**

At the same time Jade arrived at Beck's house, Tori up on the couch in a daze. "Why the heck am I on the couch?" she thought.

Then she remembered the movie marathon and Andre's abrupt departure in the middle of the night. Why did Beck come and visit her house so late? And more importantly, why did he only want to speak to Andre?

There were so many questions that needed to be answered- and despite all the obscurity, Tori got a bad feeling that Beck's visit had something to do with Jade.

Speaking of Andre… where was he? Did he leave while she was sleeping?

The sound of a door slamming behind her answered her question. She jumped, startled, and turned around to see Andre with coffee and a bag of bagels in his hands. He smiled slightly when he saw she was awake, but that didn't stop him from trying to hide the bruise on his cheek from her.

"Hey girl. How'd you sleep?" He sat down next to her on the couch and handed her a bagel.

"Pretty well, except I woke up in the middle of the night when I heard people talking." She frowned and cocked an eyebrow suspiciously at him. "Care to explain what happened there, Andre? Hmm?"

He purposefully kept his hurt cheek turned away from her and shrugged. "Oh, um… you know, just bro stuff. Nothing you need to worry about."

"Andre, I know something's up because you're not looking at me. Why did Beck come to _my _house to talk to you and not me? What was so urgent that he couldn't wait until tomorrow when you were back home to talk to you?"

Andre sighed. "Calm down, it's no big doodle…"

"No big doodle? Best friends don't hide things from each other! First you refuse to tell me about this girl you like and now this?"

The guilt continued to eat him up as he waited for her to finish her rant. "You've been acting weird ever since Jade read 365 Days. What's going on now?"

He stayed silent, thinking about what to do from here, and then decided to turn his head to look at her. "Tori, it's complicated. I don't know what else to tell you-"

"Oh my gosh, what happened to your cheek?!" Tori gasped.

He winced in pain as Tori stroked the sore spot with her thumb. "Aw, 'Dre…" she said sympathetically. "I'll go get you some ice to put on that. It looks pretty swollen." She got up and walked over to the freezer. "Beck did this to you, didn't he?"

"Yeah, he found out about my old crush on Jade and got really mad about it. It's obvious the dude still has feelings for her."

Tori returned with a bag of steamed vegetables in her hand. "Here, put this on it. It should help the swelling go down a little bit."

"Steamed vegetables? Really?" He looked at her incredulously and she shrugged. "You guys really need to get some real ice packs."

She laughed, showing him her dazzling smile. "I'm sure we'll remember to buy some eventually."

He leaned back against the cushions and pressed the bag against his cheek. "Anyway, he said the only way he could feel better about the whole thing was if he hit something. I offered him my shoulder, saying that I deserved it, and I accidentally mentioned the song to him. I guess that gave him more incentive to hit me… a little bit too much incentive, I guess," he chuckled slightly.

"So what happens next? Are you going to let this ruin your friendship?"

"Nah, I think we both just need to cool off a little. You know, think things through."

"Ah, I see."

They both sat there in silence, Tori taking dainty little bites of her buttered bagel and Andre sipping his coffee while icing his cheek. "So…will you ever get around to telling me about this girl you like?" Tori asked, breaking the tranquility.

Andre put his coffee down and glanced at Tori, taking in her appearance. She still had her clothes on from the other night- a loose-fitting teal short sleeved shirt paired with skinny jeans and white sandals. Her hair was tousled and her makeup wiped clean off of her face. He smiled as she accidentally got a little bit of butter on her nose, watching her giggle shyly and delicately clean off the smear with a paper napkin.

Even in her disheveled state he thought she looked stunning. How could one girl be so insanely perfect (in his eyes, at least) yet not realize it? It was astounding to him.

There was no way he could ever let her know, though. To her, he was just the best friend. Nothing more.

He sighed and focused on the cold sinking into his cheek instead of her beauty. "Gosh, muchacha, you're pushy. I'll tell you eventually… just not now."

"When will you tell me, then?" Tori put her bagel down and crossed her arms in front of her chest.

He shook his head and finished the last of his cup of coffee. "In due time, Tori. It'll come in due time."

* * *

**Narrator's POV (cont.)**

After an exhausting day at the pier, Beck and Jade decided to crash at Beck's RV and order pizza since Jade didn't feel like going out to dinner. Plus, she figured her dad was still in a bad mood and she just didn't want to deal with his shit today. Surprisingly enough she'd rather hang with Beck, her ex that toys with her feelings constantly, than go home and sleep.

She ended up being pleasantly surprised by the roller coaster rides at the pier. In fact, the first one she went on was so exciting and stomach-twisting that she dragged Beck onto the remainder of the roller coaster rides across the strip- which happened to be a lot. It took a while for her adrenaline rush to calm down and when it did, she crashed. As soon as they had gotten to Beck's car, she had collapsed in the back seat and had fallen asleep.

As Beck pulled up the driveway to his home, he gently nudged Jade awake. "Hey, we're here."

Jade groaned and sat up slowly, clutching her head in irritation. "Ugh, what happened? I feel like I've been run over by a bus."

"Still nauseous from all those rides you went on?" he laughed.

"Oh shut up. I was only doing that to make you stop bugging me and calling me a chicken."

He took her hand and helped her out of the car. She was a bit wobbly, still in a state of sleepiness, when she got on her feet, so he used his arms to steady her shoulders and waist.

He guided Jade to the door and she instantly flopped down onto his bed. "So, what kind of pizza do you want to order?" he asked her, taking out his phone and dialing a number.

"Meat lovers with extra pepperoni, no mushrooms, and lay off the anchovies," she said automatically.

He chuckled at her response. "Man, you're so picky when it comes to pizza."

"I'm picky when it comes to everything, Oliver. You should know that by now."

"Of course I do. We've known each other long enough, haven't we?"

"Yeah, a little too well sometimes," she muttered under her breath, but Beck pretended like he didn't hear her. He knew very well what she meant by that.

Jade reached over and swiped a movie from one of Beck's shelves and put it into the DVD player as Beck ordered the pizza. Suddenly, she felt him sit down beside her. "Pizza will be here in half an hour. That ok with you?"

She chewed her lip nervously at his closeness; they hadn't been less than a couple feet away from each other since the breakup. She started to question whether she was ready to do this or not. Trying to be friends with her ex? What was she thinking? Especially she still had feelings for him. She wondered what game he was trying to pull on her.

_No, Jade, _her mind argued with her. _Don't think of this as a bad thing; think of it as a challenge. If you can get through this movie without letting your guard down, you can do anything. Don't be weak. _

_Just do it._

Eventually, her mind won the internal battle. She shrugged indifferently. "Yeah, that's fine. I don't care."

He spotted the DVD case on her lap and picked it up. "_My Bloody Valentine_? Wow, I thought you'd want to watch _The Scissoring 2 _again because of the haunted house we went in."

"Well, maybe I want to try something different." She stared at him coldly and he seemed to get the hint.

"Okay, sure. Whatever you want."

He grabbed the remote from under his pillows and turned on the TV. Immediately, they were absorbed in the killing and gore occurring on the screen. Well, half-absorbed, that is. Internally, they were thinking about their past, re-living the events that led up to this very moment. Their first date. Their first kiss. The time Beck first met Jade's dad and the time Jade met his parents. The first time they made love and how special it was. The relentless arguments, their screaming matches. And most importantly… the painful breakup.

How can there be so much history between two people, yet they act like nothing ever existed between them?

That's the issue- now that they were friends again, the attraction was reappearing, drawing them together like opposite ends of a magnet. As the movie played on, Jade's head drooped onto Beck's shoulder and his arm habitually slid around her waist, holding her against his side.

Once the credits started rolling, Beck groped for the remote and turned the TV off, sending the room into darkness. The only light that was on was the light he had left on in his bedroom, shedding a dim glow from the crack in the door.

They sat there wordlessly, trying to figure out if the other had fallen asleep or not. "You still awake, Jade?" Beck whispered.

"Yeah, barely." She sighed and snuggled up closer to him. "That was a good movie."

He smiled, even though he knew Jade couldn't see him do so. "I know. It has been my favorite ever since you gave it to me last Christmas."

Jade lifted her head up slightly to look at him. "You remember?"

"Of course I do." He sat up a little straighter and looked Jade directly in the eyes- or, at least he thought they were her eyes. "There are a lot of things I remember and a lot of things I regret, Jade. What happened between us was one of them."

"What do you mean what happened between us?" her voice wobbled. "You regret ever dating me?"

"No, not at all! I…" He could barely make out her face in the dim light, but he knew that her soft, red lips were just inches from his. His heart swelled and pumped erratically in his chest. There was only one girl in the world that could ever make him feel like this, and she was sitting right next to him.

"You…what?" she whispered. Her mind was wiped clean of any doubt or fear that she had had before. It was just the two of them in their own little world.

Beck couldn't take the tension between them anymore and leaned in without thinking. However, his lips met the air instead as he felt Jade push him away and scramble off the bed.

"I…I have to go." She grabbed her leather jacket, which she had been using as a blanket, off of the covers and flicked on the lights so she could find her purse.

"Jade…" Beck sat there, stunned at the rejection. She was about to leave the RV when he got up and grabbed hold of her hand. "I'm sorry, I was caught up in the moment and-"

"I can't do this."

Beck's face fell. "What do you mean you can't do this?"

"This! Us!" She pointed to him, then back at herself. "I thought I could just be friends with you, but I can't! It's probably easy for you to forget what happened between us. You're the bastard who broke up with me in the first place. Do you have any idea what the breakup did to me?"

"Jade, I-"

"It killed me! I can't trust anyone with my heart now because of you!" she exclaimed, tears running down her face. "My dad gave up on me as soon as my mom left us, I haven't talked to my brother in two years, and you giving up on me- on us, actually- was just the icing on the cake."

She wrenched her hand out of his grasp and attempted to clean the mascara trails off of her face. "I may still have feelings for you and you may still have feelings for me as well…but I can't go through all that pain again. I can't let you hurt me more than you already have."

Her words slapped him in the face as he realized the severity of his past mistake. "I…I never meant to hurt you… I just wanted what was best for both of us."

"Oh really? And you thought breaking my heart was the best thing for me?" Jade snapped at him. "Save your breath, Beck. I don't want to hear your meaningless apologies. It's pathetic."

She stormed out the door but turned around one last time to say, "And don't you dare try and talk to me again unless you really want to be punished." Then she slammed the door shut.

Beck stared at the door, which was still shaking from the impact. And then the full reality of what just happened finally kicked in. His plan didn't work. Instead, he had ruined everything.

In his grief, he picked up the TV remote and threw it against one of the windows of the RV. Because they were bulletproof, it bounced harmlessly off of them and dropped to the floor. He kicked his bed a couple of times, his sadness growing stronger and stronger with each kick, until he couldn't take it anymore and collapsed on his bed.

"God damnit!" he shouted into his pillow. He tried to tame his anger and misery, but knew it was no use as soon as he felt the hot tears dripping out of his eyes.

And this time, he did nothing to stop them.

* * *

_Sorry guys, tried to get this up sooner, but school got in the way again. Hopefully I'll be able to get the next chapter up in less than a month next time around :P. Review, please!_


	10. A Clueless and Confused Cat

_Wow, it has been a while since I've updated, hasn't it? Sorry! I've just had a lot of stuff going on lately :P. I will definitely have more time to write in the summer though, so be patient my friends! If you're still out there, that is lol. _

_Alright, so here's how this chapter will work. Cat's horoscope reading, some tension at school, and then the one scene I've been talking about for a while now- yes, the really mature one lol. Fair warning- it will be very descriptive and graphic. Not because I'm a perve or anything, but because I really want to exemplify the intimacy between the two people and how much they trust each other. So if you don't like reading those kinds of things, skip through that whole section. But if you don't want to miss part of the storyline, you might want to read the whole thing. Just saying. So enjoy after a freaking long hiatus lol!_

* * *

**Cat's POV**

Yippee, it's Monday! I finally get to go back to school! This weekend just seemed to last forever. My Nona was out of town almost the whole weekend, so I've been kind of lonely.

But my Nona has the cutest little puppy I've ever seen in my whole life, so being alone isn't complete torture. It's white and fluffy and he can fit into the palm of my hand! Wesley is only six months old, after all. I always have to be careful not to step on him though because he's so incredibly small. My brother stepped on my neighbor's dog once a couple of years ago. It started convulsing and bleeding all over the place.

God, I miss him.

My brother, I mean, not my neighbor's dog. That thing always tried to bite me. That gruesome picture of his death gives me nightmares all the time now.

See, that's something that people don't really know about me. My thoughts aren't always about rainbows and puppies and all that chizz. I'm not some small, fragile puppy that needs to be coddled all my life; I've been through some rough times, too.

Hehe, see how I compared myself to a puppy? I'm so clever!

I wish I was a puppy…

So I spent my time playing with Wessie and watching _My Little Unicorn_ on the TV like I used to when I was little. Oh, and I helped Robbie babysit his little cousin Tracy. She's the cutest thing ever! And we both like playing the same games and everything!

And it was so nice of Robbie to watch that movie with me. I know he thinks the TwiHeart series is weird, so I was really surprised when he offered to watch it with me. I feel really stupid for crying in front of him though. He has seen me cry lots of times, but I should've been able to handle this myself. My dad told me to "grow a spine and get somewhere with my life" before he, my mom, and my brother came back.

I wish I knew what that meant.

I don't know what I would've done if Robbie didn't help me find my Nona. I might've stolen all of the Wahoo Fruit Punches out of the Hollywood Arts vending machines and hid out in the school's attic. He's such a good friend to me. I don't know what I'd do without him.

Speaking of Robbie… I can't get what Beck said to me out of my head.

Do I really give Robbie mixed signals?

And even more confuzzling… Could I ever see myself dating him? Do I even LIKE him that way?

The truth is… I don't know. Ever since he kissed me at the Cow-Wow, I've been trying to avoid thinking about that sort of stuff. I'm just acting like nothing happened and hopefully he'll forget about it.

Which is a jerky thing for me to do, I know. But with my family gone (for now, at least) and me being on my own for a while, I just don't think I can handle something like that right about now.

Plus his friendship means too much for me to be ruined by a silly little kiss.

And HE kissed ME and I was cowardly enough to run away from him, which just makes me even more conflicted. Did he just get stuck in the heat of the moment, or does he like me as more than a friend?

Stop it, Cat. You think too much about the silliest things. This is why people think you're dumb and stupid.

I climb out of bed and change into my pajelehoocho. Hehe, it's so comfy! And I look like a superhero! Robbie's wrong about these looking like lame superhero costumes. I feel on top of the world!

I walk out of my room and instantly gag because the whole upstairs smells like smoke as usual. Great. Nona forgot to throw out her cigar from last night again.

I carefully tiptoe to the bathroom so I wouldn't wake Nona or Wesley with my clunky shoes. After silently closing the door, I put on makeup and look at myself in the mirror. Ew. Definitely not my best hair day. I have bags under my eyes and no matter how hard I tried, my hair still looks like it has been stuck in an electrical socket. Plus my eyes are too small. And my dimple doesn't look quite right on me.

God, I'm such a mess. A bipolar, emotional, crazy mess.

Out of the corner of my eye I spot my Nona's cigar resting in her ashtray. Don't ask me why she keeps it in the bathroom; it's a mystery to me. The ashy end glows a reddish-grey and smoke is still being emitted from it. I touch the end of it gently and pull my finger away. It's still hot too. She must've gotten up in the middle of the night and smoke it.

I alternate glancing at my reflection in the mirror and the cigar. I gotta do something. I can't let myself go unpunished for looking so horrible and sleep-deprived.

And that's when the idea pops into my head and becomes too tempting to reject, even though I know it is a stupid thing to do. Another thing I can add to my "All The Stupid Things I've Done Over the Years" list.

Awesome.

* * *

As soon as I get to school, I head to my locker. My phone buzzes as soon as I reach up to unlock my locker door.

_Sikowitz: __Cat! You start the horoscope project today! Good luck and may coconuts bring joy to your life!_

_Cat: But I thought I did it yesterday?_

_Sikowitz: …No little redhead, remember? You switched days with Beck yesterday. Now today is your day to determine your future._

_Cat: That's so much pressure…_

_Sikowitz: Ah, you get used to it. There's a lot of pressure in show biz, kid. You'll be fine :)_

_Cat: Hehe thanks Sikowitz!_

I get the books I need for morning classes out of my locker and start to enter my information into the horoscope app on my PearPhone:

_Full Name: Caterina Valentine_

_Birth Date: February 26, 1995_

_Birth Time: 8:07 AM. _I don't know why I even bother remembering the exact time. Sometimes I just like remembering random facts that no one cares about.

_Birth City: Unicornland_

_Birth State: Candy Land_

_Birth Country: Narnia_

Seconds after I press the "Personalize my Horoscope!" button, my phone buzzes again

_Sikowitz: Um, Cat… The app has no idea what those places are._

_Cat: But that's where my brother told me I was born!_

_Sikowitz: *Sigh* …Just enter Los Angeles, California, United States , Cat._

_Cat: Kk!_

How can the app not know where those places are? Everyone does! It's practically universal. So I just enter what Sikowitz tells me to enter.

Yay! My horoscope is here! I can't wait to see what it says!

**Opportunities Abound: Once that brilliant idea arrives, you won't be willing to sleep until it's at least in the production stages. Does that mean you're not willing to compromise, especially when it comes to your creative urges? Yep. But in the meantime, you'll win all arguments about this and any other subject.**

Ooh, sounds interesting! Thank you stars, I'll keep that in mind!

Now excited for the school day, I get my books and skip over to the staircase- just in time to see Robbie coming out of the men's bathroom with the pajelehoocho in his hands while shaking his head. Oh no he didn't!

I'm not letting him chicken out this time.

"Robbie!" I call out to him accusingly.

He snaps his head up at the sound of my voice and his eyes widen. He tries to make a run for it, but I've already reached him and tackled him against the wall. "Why aren't you wearing your pajelehoocho?"

"I-I-I was going to, Cat," he stutters, refusing to make eye contact with me. "But it didn't fit."

"Liar! Now go put it on, Robbie." I point my finger back towards the men's room. "We made a deal and you know how Sikowitz hates us saying no to things."

He sighs in defeat and hangs his head. "Fine."

I wait for him outside the men's room until he's done changing. Finally, he emerges with the pajelehoocho on and his old clothes in his bag. I smile victoriously at him. "Don't you feel like a superhero now?"

"Yeah, sure," he mutters. "Let's just get this over with."

We walk down the stairs, Robbie trailing behind me, when Sinjin suddenly comes cartwheeling in front of us. "Are those pajelehoochos?!" he cries out as he continues to flip out of sight.

"Yes!" I respond. Finally, someone appreciates my pajelehoochos!

"Yes," Robbie says meekly. I give him a look and drag him off to class.

* * *

**Narrator's POV**

Lunch that day was very odd. Beck and Jade were very quiet and somber sitting on opposite sides of the table. They refused to look at each other and picked at their food without eating it. Robbie and Cat sat next to each other in their pajelehoochos eating their lunches. Cat continued to chat about how awesome the pajelehoochos were while Robbie chimed in from time to time to keep Cat happy. Andre had an ice pack against his jaw, trying to keep the swelling from getting too bad. And Sinjin- well, he was just being Sinjin. He was watching the gang from afar with binoculars while hanging upside-down from the stairs.

Which is inhumanly impossible, so to speak, but Sinjin somehow defied gravity and made it work.

Tori was the only one in a happy (normal) mood today, contentedly chewing on her salad. "So guys…" she started off awkwardly, hoping to spark up a conversation. "How was your weekend?"

"Great!" Robbie exclaimed.

"Totally! We had tons of fun babysitting Tracy and eating red velvet cupcakes!" Cat agreed happily.

"Horrible," Andre groaned. "I feel like I've been hit by a bus."

He glared at Beck, who refused to look up from his burrito. "At least you don't have to wear male makeup," Beck retorted back, to which Jade smirked and Cat burst out laughing.

"See, I told you it works!" Robbie said triumphantly.

"Dude, that stuff is nasty! Where did you get it from, the 'loser department'?" Rex sneered from Robbie's lap.

"Rex! Stop being mean to him!" Cat protested.

"I just wish the bruise would go away," Andre groaned. "Getting punched in the face sucks."

"Well getting whacked in the shin and getting rejected isn't a walk in a park either," Beck snapped.

"You know what sucks the most?" Jade said loudly, standing up and shocking everyone. "Getting your feelings dragged around by two guys only for everything to come crashing down in the end!"

Oblivious to everything that was going on, Robbie and Cat looked at each other and shrugged their shoulders. They didn't bother to join in on the shout-fest. They knew they would find out sooner or later.

Tori, on the other hand, knew what Beck and Andre were alluding to, but what Jade said sent her into a state of confusion. "What happened, Jade?"

"None of your damn business!" And with that she grabbed her backpack and stormed out of the Asphalt Café.

"Yeah, I'm outta here too," Beck said, doing the same thing with not as much intensity.

Knowing that something was up between the two of them, Tori and Andre glanced at each other. "You talk to Beck, I'll find Jade," Tori ordered.

"On it."

They got up and left the table as well, leaving a bewildered Robbie and a clueless Cat.

Robbie frowned. "Why does no one bother to tell me anything anymore?" he complained.

"Because you're a doofbag! Why else?"

Fed up with Rex, Cat grabbed him and stuffed him into Robbie's backpack. "Time-out for you, mister!" she shouted. She sat down, huffed, and crossed her arms in front of her chest.

Robbie smiled gratefully at her. "Thanks Cat. He needs to be put in his place every once in a while."

Cat smiled back and patted his hand comfortingly. "You're welcome."

* * *

Tori found Jade in the janitor's room cutting up an old trashcan like she usually did when she was upset. "I'm surprised you didn't lock the door," Tori commented casually, sitting down next to her.

"Yeah yeah, whatever." Jade scowled some more and started moving her scissors faster.

"Mind if I ask what happened between you and Beck this weekend?"

"Didn't I say it was none of your business?" Jade snarled at the brunette.

"Yes, but you know me well enough by now that I'll still ask because I'm a concerned friend."

"You're not my friend and I'm not yours, ok? I thought I've made that perfectly clear by now."

"But I'm a nice person and I want to help," Tori said calmly, trying to not get frustrated with the girl that was cutting up a trashcan with scissors. If she got Jade mad while she had scissors in her hands, her life may be in grave danger. "Beck said you two hung out yesterday and had a nice time."

The scissors dropped to the floor as Jade relinquished them and put her head in her hands. "That's the problem, Tori. We had a great time. I felt like everything was right between us again like they were supposed to be."

"Then why are you so upset?"

Jade sighed and fought her tears back. "We were watching a movie and…he made a move on me."

"Oh my gosh Jade, that's awesome!"

"No, it's not!" Jade shouted and sprang to her feet. "That little bastard hurt me! He loved me and then he left me. And then he has the nerve to show up again, try to make amends with stupid churros and haunted houses and scary movies, and then tell me that he regrets dumping me. He almost kissed me too, but I pretty much told him to kiss my ass and stormed out of there."

Tori's mouth dropped open. "Oh… so I guess that's why he was so upset when I last talked to him," she said. "You pretty much told him to get out of your life."

Jade sniffed and wiped away unshed tears. "I did."

"I know I'm playing devil's advocate here, but if you wanted him out of your life so badly, then shouldn't you be happy?"

"No, because I still have to see his handsome, cocky little face everywhere I go and wonder what could've been!" Jade exclaimed, kicking a piece of trash can to the side in her frustration. "I still love him, Tori. I've always had. But I still have…" She struggled to get the words out of her mouth and gagged when she finally succeeded. "Trust issues. Ugh, it sounds like what I'd tell a therapist."

Tori stood up as Jade paced around the closet. "Given the way he treated me in the past, I can't trust him anymore. How do I know he's saying these things so I'll come running back to him and then he can dump me the next time I don't praise the grass beneath his feet? How do I know he won't flirt with other girls while I'm not around? I will _not_ him hurt me again, Tori," she seethed, startling Tori by coming extremely close to her face. "I will not let him break me up and feed me to the wolves. Do you hear me?"

Tori nodded slightly. "I understand," she whispered, her mind wandering off to a different place for a split second.

"Good."

She backed away and exited out the door, leaving Tori in a state of complete shock in the janitor's closet.

* * *

Meanwhile, Andre found Beck sitting against his transparent locker in the hallway. "Hey."

Beck sighed. "Look dude, I'm not in the mood to fight right now-"

"I know. I came to apologize for what happened this weekend."

Beck gawked at Andre and stood up to meet him eye-to-eye. "Why? I should be the one apologizing. I got super jealous when I shouldn't have and I messed up your jaw."

Andre shrugged. "Eh, it'll heal. Shit happens. We all get jealous for no reason. I've gotten jealous over Tori's past boyfriends before even when I didn't have a crush on her."

"Wait, you have a crush on Tori? Since when?" _Guess Jade was right after all_, Beck thought to himself.

"Don't try and change the subject. Point is that we all do things we regret and we should make up for them as best we can, especially if the guilt is eating us up inside. The guilt started eating me up as soon as I fell for Jade. I knew she was dating you, bro, and I guess the fact that I couldn't have her made me even more wonky. But eventually I figured out that she wasn't the right one for me. Tori is. I've should've figured that out sooner than later and I'm really sorry that I didn't."

Beck stayed silent and listened as Andre finished his explanation. "I wrote that song for Jade to get my feelings out and to stop feeling wonky. As soon as I saw Jade's mean side again, I slapped myself in the head for letting that one moment we had brainwash me. I don't mean to be sappy, but it's easy to see that you two were meant for each other, and I feel really bad that I somehow played a part in separating you two from each other."

"You did cause conflict between us, Andre, but you didn't break us apart," Beck told him. He felt bad that Andre was taking all the blame for the mess he was in. "Most of this was my fault. I broke up with her in a way I shouldn't have. I was the one that hurt her, and now she can't trust me with her heart. I lost her, Andre. She's not coming back."

Andre exhaled and ran his fingers through his dreads. "My grandma used to tell me some words of wisdom every once in a while when I was little. You know, before she lost her mind. While watching romantic movies, she would tell me 'If you love someone, set her free; if she comes back, it was meant to be.'"

Beck's eyes widened as he figured out where he was going with this. "You have to let her go for now, Beck. Give her some space to figure things out, to sort out her feelings for you. Then sweep her off her feet by telling her how you feel. It takes time for heartbreak to heal. It took Tori months to get over Steven and that relationship only lasted a month. It's going to take Jade a lot longer to get over what you did to her."

"So what are you saying? That I have to wait until after we graduate to talk to her again?" Beck said with a pained expression.

"No. Give her a week at the least. Maybe even a month. I don't know. I'm sure you'll know when the time is right."

Beck closed his eyes and absorbed what Andre had just told him and he agreed. As much as he hated not talking to Jade every second of the day, it had to be done. "Okay. I'll do it. And thanks, Andre. Again, I'm really sorry about hitting you."

"Dude, it's fine. We're still buds, right?" Andre grinned and playfully punched his shoulder.

"Of course."

Andre left Beck at his locker and started to go back to lunch when he got a text from Tori: _In janitor's closet. Just talked to Jade. Come ASAP._

Tori ran up to Andre as soon as she saw him heading towards the closet. "So what did you find out? Anything new?"

Andre snickered at Tori's eagerness. "Calm down girl, nothing huge. He thinks he ruined things with her. He knows what he did was wrong and he feels like there's nothing he can do about it. I told him to give her some space and let her figure out things on her own time."

"Yeah, that's probably for the best. Jade's pretty screwed up right now too. She still loves him, but she's emotionally fragile."

Andre snorted. "Jade emotionally fragile? You're kidding me, right?"

Tori slapped him hard on the arm. "Dude! Not funny! She hates looking weak but she's really broken inside. Beck was her whole world. She doesn't really have any family besides her dad, so she leaned on Beck a lot. She doesn't want Beck to hurt her again like her family already has."

"So what do we do now?" Andre played with his fingers aimlessly.

"Let them work it out themselves, I guess."

"Says the girl who's the guidance counselor of our whole group," Andre teased her.

"Hey! Don't make me hurt you again," Tori laughed.

They stood together in a comfortable silence. Well, maybe not so comfortable. The (sexual) tension between the two of them was so thick you could cut it with a knife. It was so obvious that they both liked each other, but they were so busy tending to other people's problems that they never got around to doing anything about it.

"You know what?" Tori said and giggled. "This would make for a great song."

Andre shook his head, failing to suppress a smile. "You're right; it _would_ make a great song."

"We could write it tonight and become famous overnight!"

"Yeah! We'll be the next Taylor Swift… instead we'll be a duo instead of one person."

"But I don't want to be Taylor Swift!" Tori protested. "Her songs are so annoying and cliché."

"Finally! Someone who agrees with me!" Andre high-fived her. "Meet me at seven and we'll began writing?"

Tori's heart beat a little faster as she realized how close they were to each other. "Let's do this."

* * *

Since everyone else was busy after school today, Robbie and Cat decided to enjoy their pajelehoochos and walk around Los Angeles to enjoy the beautiful (but cold) day. Beck and Jade had gone home to spend time alone at their houses and Tori and Andre had once again decided to write a song together.

"You know what?" Robbie said as they walked along the sidewalk of one of the streets in Cat's old neighborhood. "I thought these pajelehoochos were stupid at first."

"Oh really? I didn't know," Cat said sarcastically, still peeved at him for hating them in the first place.

"But now I kind of like them."

Cat stopped walking. "You do?"

"Yeah, they're so comfy!" Robbie exclaimed, and Cat laughed hysterically as he wiggled his hips a little bit. "I feel free! Liberated!"

"I know, right?!"

Robbie jumped excitedly in front of her. "They're pajamas…"

"They're jeans…"

"They're leggings…"

"They're ponchos…"

"They're pajelehoochos!" they shouted together. Happy that Robbie finally liked their outfits, Cat jumped into his arms and he swung her around playfully.

They walked some more and were having a good time until they were approached by two tall, burly men. "Hey, are those pajelehoochos?" the one man asked them.

"Yeah, they are," Robbie said proudly.

"They're worth a lot of money where we're from," the other guy said. "Can we have them?"

"Sorry guys," Robbie spoke for both himself and Cat. "But all we have underneath is our underwear."

He shut up and squeaked as he found one of the guys aiming a gun at his head. "We don't care. We want them now," the first guy barked.

"Okay," Cat and Robbie said without hesitation.

_Oh boy…_ Robbie thought. _This is going to get awkward._

* * *

"I feel normal," they heard one of the guys say.

"I feel popular!" the other one exclaimed.

"Pajelehoochos!" they cried out triumphantly and walked away.

Robbie and Cat slowly peeked out their heads from their hiding spots behind the trash cans. "How are we going to get home?" Cat whimpered, still kind of scared from their encounter with the scary men.

"I don't know."

"We have to at least get to my parents' house from here. I still have clothes there. We can change and then go home."

"But we can't just walk six blocks in our underwear," Robbie argued with her.

"I know that!" Cat snapped at him.

Suddenly, Robbie noticed an empty trash can to his right. "Hey, how about we climb into one of these things and roll down the street to your house?"

Cat followed his gaze and nodded. "That could work, but we'll have to go fast so no one sees us."

"Okay. I'll lift you up first and then you can pull me in."

"Ready… GO!" Cat yelled quietly and they both sprang into action. Robbie dragged the trash can into the street and Cat followed him. Robbie tried not to stare as she put her foot into his hands and he stabilized her waist as he got a good view of her pink lacey underpants. As soon as she pulled herself into the trash can, Robbie gave them a running start and Cat helped him up as the trash can started to roll down the street.

"Oof!" Robbie tumbled into the trash can and Cat laughed at his klutziness. He repositioned himself so that Cat was sitting on his lap and he had his arm around her. It was the only way that they could both fit comfortably.

And Robbie didn't dislike the arrangement one bit.

Sooner or later, the trash can started to slow down a bit. "You sure we can get home like this?" Cat asked Robbie.

"Yep. From this point on, it's all downhill," Robbie pointed it out to her.

"But we aren't going very fast."

"…I know." Robbie bit his lip sheepishly.

Cat smiled cutely at him. "Maybe it'll go faster if we both shouted whee!"

Robbie chuckled and shook his head. Leave it to Cat to make the best of a sticky situation. "It's worth a shot."

And that's what they did until they arrived at Cat's house.

* * *

**Note: The M-rated stuff will start soon. Just a heads' up**

After an excruciating ten minutes of sitting and rolling, they finally got to Cat's parents' house. Robbie helped Cat get out of the trash can and they ran to the front door.

"Do you have a key?" Robbie asked.

"Yeah, there's one under the door mat," Cat said breathlessly. She fumbled with the lock for a second before the door clicked open. "It's open! Come on, let's go!" she urged him.

They ran inside the house up Cat's stairs and practically locked themselves in Cat's room, they were so filled with fear and adrenaline. "Phew! That was a close one! Great idea, Robbie!" Cat complimented him.

Robbie blushed. "Thanks. Who knows what we would've done without that piece of plastic?"

Cat giggled. "I'll get us some clothes to change into."

She started rummaging through her bedroom drawers, somehow not noticing Robbie staring at her in amazement. He had seen her in a bathing suit before, but never like this. Her red, lacy bra and pink underpants seemed to accentuate the curves of her body and her red hair like he had never seen before. Her stomach was flat and her legs looked thin but muscular at the same time. Her skin looked so enticing and smooth, and he knew that he wouldn't be able to hold himself back if he even touched her while she was like this.

She was breathtaking.

He was stunned until he noticed something on her shoulder right near the base of her neck that her clothes must had covered up before.

A cigar burn.

"Cat…" he said tentatively. "What's that on your neck?"

Cat stopped what she was going and her hand flew to her neck where she had crushed the hot cigar to her skin. "Oh… I was doing something and accidentally burned myself. No big deal."

However, Robbie wasn't buying it. He stepped closer to her and she shivered. "Did you do that to yourself?" he whispered, hoping that the answer would be no.

Cat's lip quivered and she bit it to hold back tears. "…Yes."

Robbie gasped. "Why would you do that to yourself, Cat? Why would you hurt yourself like that?"

"Because I hate myself sometimes, Robbie!" she shouted, catching him off-guard. "I don't like how I look, I don't like how I act, and people don't care about me! People think I'm stupid and no one gets me. So I punish myself every so often for not being more beautiful than and as smart as everyone else in the world is, and I can't feel good about myself unless I do so!"

She started sobbing uncontrollably. "It's bad, I know, but I have to do it. I need to be better than I am already and I get mad at myself for not being what people expect me to be."

Robbie gaped at her, not quite believing what he was hearing coming from her mouth. "Oh my god… Come here, Kitty."

He opened his arms out to her and she ran into him, hugging him tightly and crying into his chest. "I'm so sorry. I didn't know," he whispered in her ear.

"I'm all alone, Robbie!" she continued to cry. "I feel like no one cares about me anymore."

"Ssssh, Cat," Robbie soothed her. "Look at me."

Cat lifted her head reluctantly. "You're my best friend. Of course I care about you. You mean the world to me. And everyone else cares about you too. Do you think Tori, Andre, Beck, and Jade would still be friends with you if they didn't care about you?"

She shook her head noiselessly. "See? You still exist, Cat. We all love you and think the world of you. You do matter to us."

"But I don't feel special," she whimpered. "Everyone around me is always saying 'Oh, Tori is so gorgeous with her cheekbones!' and 'Oh, Jade is so bad-ass and sexy in all-black clothing!' No one says stuff like that to me. Therefore, I am not pretty."

Robbie was at a loss for words. Matter of fact, he couldn't put into words how incredibly beautiful and amazing she was to him. Being the socially-awkward guy he was, he decided not to put it into words. Even though he wasn't necessarily experienced (the only experience he really had was once being forced to watch an inappropriate video with his pervy cousin Tyson), he decided on another tactic. Her full, pink lips and slender waist was too much for him to bear. He couldn't take it anymore.

He had to show, not tell her, how he felt about her. And that is when he got his idea.

"What if I could make you feel special?" he asked her quietly.

"Huh?" Now Cat was curious. "What you mean?"

Robbie spun her around so that she was looking into her full-length mirror next to her drawers. "Promise me you trust me first."

Cat felt her heart beating out of her chest at the feel of his hands around her waist and his breath against her ear. "Of course I trust you, Robbie," she whispered.

Robbie took a deep breath, extremely nervous about what he was planning on doing, and positioned his fingertips in front of her face. He traced her eyebrows, her eye sockets, and her cheekbones in one delicate path with his index fingertips. "Robbie, what are you doing?" Cat giggled.

"Showing you how unique and amazing you are," he responded back.

He outlined the sides of her nose and traced the full, curvy patterns of her lips. "That tickles!" Cat laughed at one point, and Robbie couldn't help but laugh along with her.

His fingertips slid down the rest of her body, dancing across the rest of her features. He traced her arms, the palms of her hands, and her fingers. He grazed her sides and outlined her belly button, and she gasped as he finished by sliding his hands down her thighs and to her feet.

"Did that make you feel special?" he asked her, the hormones and blood pumping through his body at lightning speed.

Cat sighed happily. "It did… but you didn't get everywhere," she said innocently.

Robbie was stunned. "Wait…what?"

Cat gestured to the places he missed- the ones that were still covered. Robbie's eyes bulged and he gulped. "Are you sure you want me to, Cat? Those are…private, if you know what I mean." His face turned bright red.

Cat took a deep breath and let her nervous energy out. She turned around and looked him square in the eyes. "I trust you," she said in such a way that made Robbie almost melt.

She turned around again and waited for him to continue. He gave himself a minute to stop shaking and shake the jitters out and then got to work on getting the places he had purposefully avoided. He slowly traced the outline of her bra, silently noting that Cat's breathing had started to quicken. He cleared his mind again before slipping his hands under her bra and tracing the smooth skin on the tops of her breasts.

She gasped loudly and he stopped what he was doing. "No, keep going!" she ordered him. So he continued on. He circled her breasts a few times before twiddling with her nipples, squeezing them and pushing them with his hands.

A burst of euphoria went through Cat's body and she moaned quietly, turning Robbie on. He teased her breasts for a little while longer, cupping them in his hands, before moving his hands down to her hips. He outlined the tops and bottoms of her underwear, and Cat squirmed in anticipation. His hand hesitated at the top of her panties, almost chickening out. But before he could stop himself (because he was nervous), he wrapped his arm around Cat's waist, steadying her, as he dipped his hand underneath and started rubbing her entrance.

"Oh my god!" Cat groaned at his touch. Her innocent little self had no idea what was happening. Jade had given her a sex talk before just to annoy her, but she zoned out during it. At the moment she just loved the feeling and wanted more of it. "Please keep going, Robbie."

He suppressed a grunt and rubbed faster, and he could feel Cat's body leaning against him, slowly becoming limp with pleasure. He grabbed her waist tighter and kissed her neck, making her relax even more against his hands. When he felt her starting to get wet, he paused and pushed one finger inside of her, gently moving up and down as to not hurt her.

She cried out in surprise at the intrusion but didn't stop him as he pushed another finger inside of her and continued his motions. Her gasps became quicker and raspier as he incessantly hit her spot, and her head lolled against his shoulder. The prolonged skin-to-skin contact they had radiated through Robbie's body and made him want her more. He felt her insides tighten around his fingers and continue to moisten, and it turned him on so much that he didn't want to stop. When he finally forced himself to, he wiped his fingers against his boxers and waited for Cat's reaction.

"Are you okay, Cat?" he asked, concerned. He hoped he hadn't gone too far. What he didn't expect, surely, was Cat grabbing him and kissing him hungrily on the mouth.

"Please Robbie," she begged him. "Make me feel even more special. Please."

He barely got the word "okay" out of his mouth before she kissed him again, sending bolts of lightning down his body. He picked her up and carried her to her bed, sitting down and positioning her so that her legs were wrapped around his waist and he was steadying her with his hands. She entangled her hands in his curly hair and he ran his hands all across her lower body, across her stomach to the bottom of her spine. He slid his hand beneath her underwear once more and grabbed her rear, making her squeak and subconsciously push her hips into his, making him groan.

"God, I wish you could see how beautiful you are," he gasped against her lips before proceeding to press his lips against every feature he had once traced with his hands. He planted gentle kisses on her forehead, the tip of her nose, her cheeks, her chin, and one more time on her lips before moving from her face. He tilted his head to suck on one of her earlobes, which Cat really seemed to like. Gently tucking her long, red hair behind her dainty little ears, he brushed his lips against the side of her neck, biting and sucking on her pulse points to really make her go nuts. However, he made sure that he didn't do it too hard as to leave a hickey. This encounter would be his and Cat's little secret.

After kissing her up and down her arms (to which Cat giggled madly because she was very ticklish in those places), Robbie thumbed her burn gently, causing Cat to wince in pain. His heart broke at the mere thought of Cat purposefully hurting herself. To think that the girl he loved so much would ever do such a thing… he shuddered in horror at the very thought of it.

_Focus, Robbie. The point of this is to convince her never to hurt herself again, not to get into her pants._

"Promise me you won't do this to yourself ever again, Cat," he pleaded, kissing the skin around her burn affectionately.

Cat, now starting to realize that he truly cared about her, brushed her lips against his cheek and stroked the back of his neck. "I promise," she said softly.

"Are you sure you want me to keep going? I don't want to force you to do anything you don't want to do."

"No!" Cat shouted, causing Robbie to jump. She giggled. "I like it. A lot." And then she gave him a knowing smirk. "And I bet you do too."

"Well you're definitely not wrong with that one," he chuckled under his breath. He lavished Cat's chest with kisses until he reached the valley of her breasts. Tentatively, his fingers traveled to her back and unhooked her bra. Cat shivered at his touch and in one quick motion her bra straps slipped down her arms, making her bra fall down to her waist.

She whimpered and clutched her arms around her chest, suddenly feeling vulnerable. "Robbie… I'm scared," she whispered. "What if I'm not good enough for you? I'm not pretty like all of those pretty models in the magazines."

Robbie's heart swelled as he squeezed her arms comfortingly. "You'll always be pretty enough for me."

His sweet words helped Cat to relax and he slowly helped her uncross her arms, taking in the beauty of her bare chest. Her breasts were small yet looked so soft and perky. He pressed his hands against them, as if to convince himself that he really was doing this, eliciting a soft growl from Cat. Her reaction urged him to go on and massage her left breast with his mouth, biting and sucking on various parts of her luscious skin.

Cat's eyes had shifted back and forward nervously before, but she now squeezed them shut and moaned loudly, basking in this newfound pleasure, which was stronger than the other ones she had experienced thus far. "Oh Robbie!" she cried out, digging her nails into Robbie's shoulders. She couldn't seem to stop herself from making various little noises as he pleasured her breast. Then, without warning, he took her nipple in his mouth and sucked on it hard, teasing it with his tongue and grazing it with his teeth.

Electricity shot through Cat's body and she arched back while crying out, pushing her breast further into Robbie's mouth. Robbie sucked on it one last time before moving on to her other breast, not even pausing to stop and take a breath.

When he finished with her chest, they were both panting madly. Robbie looked at her with loving eyes and repositioned her so that she was laying on her back in her bed. He planted his hands on her petite waist and kissed down her stomach. She laughed (because it tickled so much) while trying to catch her breath, not quite knowing what he was going to do next.

He tugged at the waistline at her panties a little bit and she got what he meant. Without hesitation, she sat up and pulled them down her thighs, placing them next to her bra.

What a lucky duck Robbie was, seeing his crush completely naked for the first time. Never in his wildest dreams did he ever think anything like this would ever happen to him. How in the world he get so lucky to have such a wonderful girl in his life?

"Oh my god, Cat…" His eyes traveled down her now-exposed pelvis to the bottoms of her toned thighs. He leaned over and swirled his tongue over the top of her pelvis, moving lower and lower until he approached the top of her clit. Cat squirmed and gasped with anticipation, knowing that something incredibly pleasing was coming up next. "You're so damn perfect."

He spread her legs apart, making enough room for him to kneel and still be in a comfortable position. He kissed down her legs to her toes and brushed his lips against both of her inner thighs before opening her legs even further (good thing she used to be a cheerleader when she was little) and swirling his tongue around the bundle of nerves he knew (from what Tyson had told him, at least) made girls go over the edge.

Cat screamed as her insides went absolutely crazy over the new sensation. Her hands clutched the sheets below her and her hips bucked, practically begging Robbie for more friction. "Oh my god! Keep doing that, Robbie!" she whined, her face growing hot and her heart beating a thousand times a minute. This was the best she had felt in a long time. It was a whole new experience for her, proof that she wasn't innocent little Cat Valentine anymore, the girl who thought sex was for adults and that only Beck and Jade did this kind of stuff while they were a couple.

Completely and utterly turned on by Cat's behavior, he grunted and kept teasing her clit with his mouth. Poor kid was so horny by now that while pleasuring Cat, he had to grind his aching boner into the bed in order to keep himself from getting too distracted. He paused for a moment to catch his breath and recollect his thoughts, and then did the same thing he had done to her nipples not long ago- suck on it hard and tease it some more.

Cat's cries took on a louder volume, full of pure want, and he immediately wriggled his tongue inside of her, making sure that he was hitting her spot repeatedly, knowing that she was close to letting go any second. It didn't take a genius to figure out when a girl was aroused. He didn't quite know what to think about how she tasted, but he ignored that for the time being and ate her out, feeling her body convulse slightly underneath his touch.

He had almost licked her clean when Cat's body really started to rock, begging him to finish her off. He hummed into her entrance, the vibrations making her go absolutely wild, and then stopped. He glanced up to see her eyes half-glazed over and a disappointed look on her face. "Why did you stop?" she protested. "I wasn't done feeling special yet!"

He laughed at her so-called logic and pulled her into her lap again. "I'm not done yet. Just wanted to give you a break."

"But I don't want a break! I want more now!" She pouted like a three year-old who had just had her candy taken away from her.

"Do you even know how cute you are when you pout like that?"

She blushed madly and poked his belly playfully. "Yes."

"Good." He steadied her waist and pressed his lips to her sweetly. She sighed happily and pulled herself closer to him, pushing her breasts into his chest. Their flushed, damp skin stuck together and their hips moved together naturally, making them both groan simultaneously.

Robbie pulled away a little bit, resting his forehead against hers, and looked into her eyes. "Three…two…one…"

"What?"

Suddenly, she buckled and shrieked as Robbie started to massage her entrance with his fingers roughly, pressing hard against her clit rapidly. In just a few short seconds, she was back to the high she had previously been experiencing- only this time it was much more intense. Her brain started to get fuzzy and she couldn't think straight as a million feelings and sensations poured through her body all at once. 'Robbie," she breathed over and over again, pushing him into overdrive. He kissed her passionately one last time, sending her into a high-pitched, orgasmic fit.

Her screams caused him to groan deeply as he too went over the edge into his boxers. They spent a minute panting like crazy and trying to comprehend what had just happened between them. "How…" Robbie stuttered in a state of shock mixed with euphoria. "How did that feel?"

Cat smiled at him and kissed him on the cheek. "Amazing."

"Now can you see why you shouldn't harm yourself, Cat?" Robbie said, quickly getting his bearings together. "Do you want all of that to go away? Because if you hurt yourself too badly…bad things can happen."

She bit her lip guiltily. "I know. I won't let you down, Robbie. I think I know I'm beautiful now."

Robbie helped her retrieve her underwear and put it back on her. "It's just going to take some time, that's all." She shrugged her shoulders and hopped off the bed, heading over to her dresser and pulling out her pajamas.

Robbie looked confused. "Wait… you're sleeping here tonight?"

"Sure, why not? My Nona's gonna be out late and I'm already here so why not?"

"I'm not leaving you here alone," Robbie argued with her.

"I'm a big girl, Robbie! I can take care of myself!" Cat retorted. "And you've already done enough for me tonight."

She threw him one of her brother's old shirts and pulled him into a bear hug. "Thank you. It meant a lot to me."

He blushed, still reeling from their encounter, and hugged her back. "No problem, Kitty. No problem at all."

Robbie pulled the shirt over his head and awkwardly made his way to the door. "Wait!"

He turned around at the sound of Cat's voice coming from her bed. "This won't change anything between us, right?"

He paused to think about it, feeling conflicted. He still didn't know why he just did that with her or how he was even able to do it in the first place. He had never kissed any girls before- well besides Cat and Trina, that is. And he had never been in a real relationship before either. He never knew about all the sexual, mature stuff until Tyson forced him to listen to his crude humor- and even that he still didn't understand everything that well.

But everything just seemed to come so naturally to him. Everything just fell into place…like it was meant to be that way. Could it be…?

_No, stop it, Robbie. She ran away from you. She doesn't feel that way about you. Don't wear your heart on your sleeve against just because of a measly little hookup._

Rex's voice echoed in his head- and he hated to admit it, but he had to agree with him. It wasn't worth the risk.

Robbie sighed and sent her a small (but fake) smile. "Of course it won't."

He turned on her nightlight for her, turned off the lights, and left her lying in her bed, more confused about her feelings than ever before.

* * *

_Holy cheese Batman, that took so long to write! I'm sorry if the last part sounded like a bad porn movie lol. This is my first time (and possibly the last) writing something like that and I was raised to be a pure Catholic girl when I was little so…yeah, that might explain some things :P. A lot more Cabbie than Bade, I know, but I promise Bade will continue to be the main focus in the upcoming chapters! And I will eventually get to Beck and Cat's journal entries in the next chapter since I have been neglecting them for now. Review pleaseee! :D_


	11. It's Tori's Turn to Be Conflicted

_SOOO sorry for the long wait, everyone! But good news- I'm a college girl now! Yayyyy! So I have time to write finally ^_^. Hope you guys didn't forget about me!_

_Soooo, I was a little discouraged after seeing the immediate results of my last chapter post. In one day two people unfavorited me and three unfollowed me with 1-3 reviews only. I know I put in a mature scene and everything, but I didn't think people would dislike it that much! D: Nevertheless, I'm keeping it in there, so no going back on that one. And yes, this is still a Bade story for those of you who keep asking me for more Bade! I'm a Cabbie writer writing Bade so cut me some slack, okay? xP_

_For this chapter we've got 2-3 diary entries, Tori's horoscope, and some awkward encounters between characters. Will Beck letting Jade go and Cat and Robbie's midnight adventure tear the group apart? And then next chapter will be a quick recap of all the characters' horoscopes. Happy reading!_

* * *

**Beck's POV**

_Dear Diary (a.k.a Sikowitz),_

_Sorry I'm a little late writing this. So much has happened in the past couple days that I've been a little preoccupied. Why, you ask? Oh, because my heart is being pummeled and tossed around like a punching bag, that's why. I'm not usually one to showcase my emotions, but it seems like every day in life I live without Jade, it's getting harder and harder not to. It's the damndest thing, really, and I can't exactly explain why it is happening to me. I've dealt with so much shit in the past and yet I never wavered before this year. Why is this experience so incredibly different then? I just don't get it._

_Anyway, I'll tell you what you really want to know about—the horoscope. At first, I didn't get it at all because it told me that I wouldn't be able to repel anyone. Well, I guess that's sorta true. I mean, a lot of girls DID ask me out after the breakup, but I turned all of them down. But I did repel people though…I kicked Jade out of my life and I created a huge mess with Andre. So it wasn't entirely accurate. However, the horoscope did give me some insight on what I SHOULD be doing in order to change that, so I made the decision to try and win Jade back._

_Everything was going smoothly at first; I took her to the pier and we had a blast going on all the rides. And then I took her home and we watched a movie together in my RV. By the end of the movie, we were practically acting like a couple again. And that is where everything went wrong. Terribly wrong. Stupid me tried to kiss her and she pushed me away, saying that I broke her heart and that she couldn't trust me again. _

_The irony was that I thought breaking up was the best thing for us at the time. Our relationship was toxic. We fought at every chance we got and she became spiteful—more spiteful than usual, that is. If I even dared to glance at a girl, she would instantly be up in my face about it or would try swooning at other boys to make me jealous. We were falling apart; we needed a break from each other. Or so I had thought. But now she hates me for it. My plan completely screwed me over._

_The next day at lunch was really tense between Andre, Jade, and me. Jade eventually exploded over something that was said and stormed away. I did the same, Andre followed me, and we worked our chizz out. But after we forgave each other, he gave me some advice about Jade; he advised me to let her go. Let her figure things out before I try to talk to her again. _

_The problem is…I can't. She's a huge part of my life. If she's gone, then I'm gone too. My parents don't care to support me anymore, I didn't get into Julliard, and my tough-guy shell is cracking from all of this stress. Sure, friends are great and everything, but they're nothing compared to someone who you seem to connect with on every level possible._

_Who am I kidding? Scratch that._

_As cheesy as this may sound, they're nothing compared to a potential soul mate._

* * *

**Cat's POV**

_Dear Bubbles,_

_Hehe, it's the name of my favorite Powerpuff girl! Is it okay if I call you Bubbles, Mr. Diary? It is?! Yay! I like bubbles! Not the Powerpuff girl this time, just plain old bubbles. Oh who am I kidding, I love them both!_

_Oh wait, what am I supposed to be talking about? Oh yeah, the horoscope thingamajig! Thingamajig is such a fun word to say, isn't it? Mine told me that I would win all of these arguments, especially ones about my creative ideas- a.k.a. buying all of those pajelehoochos! And I did at first. I caught Robbie trying to avoid wearing one and I made him put it back on again. We wore them the whole day around school! He wasn't too happy about it in the beginning, but I think he started to enjoy it near the end of the day._

_So we went into town after school and walked around for a little bit to get some fresh air. It was so nice outside, even for winter! And the pajelehoochos were so warm and fuzzy, so we didn't really mind the cold all that much. But then these two big, scary men came up to us and stole our pajelehoochos, even though we didn't want to give them up! That was one argument I didn't win. Then again, a gun pointing at your head usually wins over a lot of things, so we were clearly at a disadvantage anyway._

_Once the men went away, Robbie and I had to crawl into a nearby trashcan and roll to my house. It was so fun! We cried out "Whee!" all the way there. It was really weird seeing Robbie in his boxers though, since we had nothing else on underneath our pajelehoochos. He's a lot more muscular than I had thought. Did he start working out recently? I don't know, but it was making me see him in a new light. He's not Robbie, the awkward nerd with the puppet anymore. He's Robbie, a smart guy with a minor self-esteem issue and defined abs that I never knew about. Not that I noticed or anything…_

_Anyway, after we got home, Robbie and I almost got into a little dispute. I told him that I hurt myself if I didn't look good that day and I was determined to win the argument…but I didn't, even though my horoscope said I would. Robbie took it upon himself to show me how I'm beautiful even though I'm not exactly perfect…and then it got a little naughty. Like Beck and Jade naughty, if you get what I'm saying._

_Oh my! Did I just write all of that out loud? Please don't send me to my therapist again, Bubbles! Her office smells like burning rubber and she has all these creepy paintings hanging on her walls. I don't want to go back there, you hear me? Never again._

_I did win with the pajelehoochos, but with everything else…I lost. I lost my fight with Robbie, my Nona punished me when I didn't come home that night, and my feelings for Robbie are more conflicted than ever. And if horoscopes are supposed to possibly predict your future… Why did the stars lie to me?_

_Why did they just make my problems even more complicated than they were before?_

* * *

**Tori's POV**

_SLAM!_

I jolt awake and shriek at the sound of my bedroom door crashing loudly against the door frame. "Trina!" I exclaim, looking at her brooding figure over the side of my bed. Running my fingers through my mangled hair in exasperation, I sit up and rest against the headboard. "Can I please just go one day without you trying to give me a heart attack?"

Trina just rolls her eyes. "Yeah yeah, I get that you need your beauty sleep, little sis, but this is _really _important." She plops down on the edge of the bed and shoves her feet in my face. "Which color nail polish makes my toes look cuter? Violet-red or red-violet?"

Apparently she doesn't remember that I was up until midnight song-writing with Andre last night. Not that I expected her to care, anyway. "Aren't those colors the same?" I ask, furrowing my eyebrows.

She gasps. "Are you insane? No, they're not! Violet-red has more purple in it than red and red-violet has more red in it than-"

"I get it." I massage my temple, trying to get rid of the pounding in my skull. "Do I really have to do this now?"

"Yes!"

I yawn and force myself out of bed to my dresser. "Can't you just ask mom or one of your friends? I'm going to be late for school if I don't start getting ready soon."

She gives me a look. "Ugh, fine, I will. You're no help." Sticking her tongue out at me, she walks out of my room.

I stick my tongue out at the now-closed door and pull out a black-and-gold striped blouse and Trina's Felony jeans I stole from her closet the other day since she shrunk half of my jean supply attempting to use the dryer the other day. God knows how that girl is going to survive once she goes off to college. It's definitely going to be interesting to see how she adapts to living independently without everyone catering to her every whim.

As I retrieve my Pearphone from the dresser where it had been charging the whole night, it buzzes in my hand. Startled yet again, I look to see who has texted me so early in the morning.

_Sikowitz: Tori! You start the horoscope project today! Good luck and may coconuts bring joy to your life!_

Oh yeah, I forgot that started today for me. I've been so wrapped in my schoolwork and other people's problems that I completely forgot that the project even existed.

Come to think of it, these horoscopes may have been the cause of all these problems. Something tells me that Andre wouldn't have told Jade that the song was about her if it wasn't his turn to do the project that day. And Beck's rendezvous with Jade the other day now seems very out-of-the-blue and suspicious to me.

Stop it, Tori. They're just tidbits of useless advice that deluded psychologists make up because they think the goddamn universe has the ability to foreshadow. How stupid is that?

I decide to not think about it for the time being as I finish getting ready for school, pack my backpack up, and head down the stairs to grab some breakfast. I put my bag down on the loveseat and head over to where my mom is standing in front of the stove, humming and flipping some sizzling hot bacon. "Mmm, that smells delicious!"

My mom smiles at me as she flips over a couple more pieces of bacon with her spatula. "Bacon, eggs, and hash browns all cooked in just under three minutes. That new cooking show I've been watching sure works miracles!"

My mouth waters at the sight of the food. Man, I could use a hot breakfast this morning. All I've been living on this week (because of my midnight chill sessions with Andre and my late-night study nights) is pizza, gummy worms, and popcorn. Not that junk food isn't utterly delicious and addicting, but I haven't had a home-cooked meal in a while.

She shuffles the food onto a plate and brings it over to the table. "Is that for all of us?"

"Bacon is in the freezer and the eggs are on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator, honey."

I groan. "But Mom, the bus is going to be here in 15 minutes! I don't have time to make all of this for myself!"

She casually takes a bite of her scrambled eggs as I peer wistfully over her shoulder at the food that I can't have. "Have Trina take you to that pancake house near Hollywood Arts before school starts. I'm sure the $200 your dad and I gave Trina for her birthweek isn't completely gone by now."

I raise my eyebrow at her. "Really? Trina spends half of her allowance on her shoe obsession alone! And there's no way I'm driving with her again after what happened last time."

"What happened last time?"

I grimace at the memory. "She made me massage her feet. One time she almost kicked me in the face and ran over a stop sign. Driving with her is hazardous to my health."

I sigh and grab a granola bar out of the pantry. I'll just buy a big lunch at school later. And people wonder how I stay so thin. What just happened right now... Exhibit A.

She takes a break from her breakfast to glance over her shoulder at me. "Why don't you go get your license like a normal teenage girl?"

There are a lot of reasons for that, actually, most of them having to do with the fact that I'm scared to death of driving. But that'll be something no one will ever need to know. Sure I want to drive and have freedom and everything, but the idea of getting into a huge vehicle and accidentally squishing someone scares the crap out of me. So my response to that question (which I get a LOT from people nowadays) is to simply sigh and shake my head.

I look over at the clock on the stove as I take a bite of my granola bar. Damn. Bus will be here any minute now. Grabbing my songwriting materials from the coffee table (which I was using to write our new song with Andre last night), I stuff them into my backpack. "Hey, I'm not going to be home until five today. I'm going to stay after school to help Andre work on our song," I call over to my mom.

She finishes eating and walks her plate over to the sink. "Seems like you've been spending a lot of time with Andre lately," she comments casually. "Anything going on with your other friends?"

"Nah, they've just been busy with this new project Sikowitz gave us the other day."

"Oh, the horoscope one?"

"Yep." I lean against the sofa, knowing that this conversation won't be over anytime soon. I just hope I don't miss the bus because of this.

"Have you started it yet?" My mom joins me in the living room and sits down on one of the loveseats.

"Nope. Supposed to be starting it today."

She chuckles. "Good luck! Sounds like it's keeping your friends pretty preoccupied."

"Thanks, Mom." I hug her goodbye and sprint out the door, barely making it to the bus on time.

"Morning, Tori!" Lenny the bus driver greets me. His real name is Leonard but we nicknamed him Lenny because he's big and happy-go-lucky like the character in Of Men and Mice. He laughs. "Still haven't gotten that license yet, huh?"

I stick my tongue out at him and he claps me on the shoulder playfully. "Very funny. Morning to you too."

I head to the back of the bus where the juniors and seniors without cars and licenses usually sit. "Yo Tori," a kid with greasy black hair and tattoos of flames and skulls all over his arms greets me. "Have you ever tried this stuff? They jump up and down in your mouth and make these really cool popping sounds!"

He holds out a pack of Pop Rocks and waves it in my face. "They're super charged with caffeine, too. Two bucks. Take it or leave it."

The rest of his hipster buddies snicker behind him, but I know better than to trust them. "Seriously, Trevor? Mixing heroin with Pop Rocks is the oldest trick in the book. Maybe if you stopped taking advantage of little kids by dealing them candy drugs, you'd actually get somewhere in life." Satisfied with my answer, I lean back in my seat and cross my arms over my chest defiantly.

I'm not usually that bitter to Trevor and his buddies, but barely having anything to eat in the morning makes me irritable. They're supposed to be graduating this year but given the "street cred" they have around Hollywood Arts (and the whole town of Los Angeles, for that matter), I highly doubt that's actually going to end up happening.

"Damn, girl," Trevor mutters and backs off. A smirk appears on my face and I listen to my music on my Pearphone without any more distractions the whole way to school.

Before I get off the bus, however, I make sure to enter my information into the app Sikowitz made all of us install for the project. My mom even took a picture of my birth certificate just to make sure I put all the information correctly! I didn't ask her to do that for me or anything; she just took it upon herself to do it. As much as I get annoyed at my mom for being sort of lazy around the house, there are times where she is just awesome.

_Full Name: Victoria Vega_

_Birth Date: November 22, 1995 __**(A/N: Fun fact- November 22**__**nd**__** is also the same date as my grandmother's birthday :D)**_

_Birth Time: 1:16 PM_

_Birth City: Bollywood_

_Birth State: California_

_Birth Country: United States_

Seconds later after I completed everything, however, another message from Sikowitz pops up on my phone.

_Sikowitz: Tori… you DO know Bollywood is in India and not California, right?_

_Tori: Aw, dang it! Sorry Sikowitz, I hit the wrong letter on my keyboard by accident!_

_Sikowitz: Oh, that's quite alright! Just fix it and you should be good to go :)_

I fix the message and wait for my horoscope to come up. Everyone is getting off the bus right now, but I don't care- Lenny can wait for a couple more minutes. He doesn't have to pick up the elementary school kids for another twenty minutes, plus the bell isn't going to ring for another five minutes.

Yep, I have this whole timing thing worked out to a legit science by now. It's essential when you have such a disorganized family like mine.

_**Check Your Work: **_**Everything will seem to make perfect sense, but that may not be the case. If you're about to sign something, ask an impartial third party for a thorough review first. It's not that you won't be on your toes, but that your toes may not be touching the ground.**

Ok… Not sure what that's supposed to mean, but I'm sure I'll figure it out eventually. Whatever.

"Tori! You asleep back there? The bell is about to ring any second!"

Oh yeah. Still gotta get off the bus. Whoops.

"Sorry Lenny!" I call to him, slinging my bag over my shoulder and dashing off the bus.

I really hope this horoscope thing isn't screwing people's brains up as much as it seems to be doing. I already have too much on my plate- a potential record deal, above all things- and I can't have this messing it all up.

Sigh…life is just so stressful sometimes.

* * *

**Narrator's POV**

The atmosphere was very tense after Sikowitz's class that day. Everyone avoided talking to each other in fear of making someone angry. Beck kept to himself the whole class, occasionally sneaking wistful glances at Jade. Robbie didn't sit in his usual seat beside Cat, which made her very anxious. She bounced up and down in her chair the whole time, glancing back at Robbie every once in a while to see what he was doing. When he caught her looking, she quickly looked away and hid her face in a script they were memorizing for a class activity. Tori sat next to Andre as usual, and they watched everything play out in front of them with incredulity. They could both feel that something wasn't right within the classroom today.

When they exited the classroom, Beck and Jade walked quickly away from each other, heading in opposite directions to their next class. Cat tried to get Robbie's attention, but he didn't seem to see her. Instead, he kept his gaze pointed forward and walked over to his locker. The pair saw Cat's face fall and she headed over to her own locker, sulking.

"What is up with everyone today?" Tori whispered to Andre as they headed to their next class together- gym.

"I have no idea. We both know why Beck and Jade are acting weird, but what happened between Cat and Robbie?"

"I know, right? I don't know what happened either! She didn't text me all last night, which is weird because she always sends me a text at night saying that her brother says hi and still wants to marry me."

Andre chuckled. "Dude has an unhealthy obsession with you, Tori. Remember last Valentine's Day he sent you all of those love notes?"

"Oh yeah! And he gave me a singing pink unicorn too! Cute but creepy at the same time."

Suddenly, Tori's phone rang in her pocket. She took it out of her pocket, her eyes bugging out at the sight of the caller ID. _Infinity Records Inc._ "I have to take this…" she muttered to herself. "But Mrs. Donohue is going to give me detention if I'm late for another class!"

"Don't worry, I'll cover for you. I'll just say you're having girl problems or something."

Tori laughed, giving Andre a quick side-hug. "Thanks, Andre. I appreciate it. I'll pay you back, I promise!"

He smiled at her. "You better. This has to be the fifth time I've had to cover for you."

"It's not my fault they keep calling me the same time every single freaking day!"

"Whoa girl, calm down. I'm just messing with you. I'll see you at lunch."

Tori watched him walk through the gym doors before answering the phone. ""Hey Oliver! Have you showed Shawn Quincy the recording Andre and I put together yesterday?"

Oliver was the assistant assigned to her by the record company. His job was to help Tori get a contract with Infinity Records unless he was dismissed by the manager. In this case, being dismissed meant that Shawn Quincy lost interest in investing in Tori's talent and Oliver would have to look for another young teen pop sensation to discover. Oliver was at the Platinum Music Awards when Tori sang "Make It In America" and, after finding her after the show, agreed to help her score a record deal with Mr. Quincy himself. So far things have been going as planned. All Tori had to do was hope that he liked the new song she and Andre wrote together and she could become the next pop superstar.

"I did and I have good news! Shawn didn't just like it…he LOVED it."

Tori couldn't contain her excitement, so she ran around the corner to squeal and do a little happy dance. "Oh my god, he did?!"

"Yeah and he wants to start recording an album as soon as possible using all the songs you and Andre wrote and some covers you posted on you SplashFace page."

"That's fantastic!" However, Tori thought of a conflict. "But how are we going to work around my school hours?"

"Easy. You'd come to the studio for 3-4 hours every other day. On that schedule, all the songs should be recorded within a few months and the album would be released by early June. And then once people hear your album, you can start touring in July. Mr. Quincy and I will start tossing up dates and tour stops as soon as your album is finished being recorded. All you just need to do is sign the contract, have your parents approve of it, and then you're good to go."

Tori couldn't believe what she was hearing. She could become a superstar in less than a year! "Thank you so much, Oliver! And tell Shawn Quincy I won't let him down!"

"No problem! And I'm sure you won't, Tori. It's an honor for me to become a manager for someone as talented as you. The contract should arrive in your mailbox by the time you get home from school; it doesn't have to be signed until the end of the month, but the sooner you get it signed, the sooner we can start recording. Have a good day and I'll see you once the contract is signed!"

As soon as she heard the click, Tori hung up the phone and raced to the girls' locker room. She couldn't wait to tell everyone at lunch!

Meanwhile Cat was getting books out of her locker for her next class. As soon as she shut her door, however, she realized she wasn't alone.

"Hey," said Robbie, leaning against the lockers.

She shrieked. "Robbie, don't scare me like that!"

"Sorry, didn't mean to startle you," he apologized. "Did you sleep okay last night?"

"Um, yeah I did," she stuttered, suddenly too nervous to talk. "Although I did get in trouble with my Nona. I forgot to tell her that I wouldn't be home that night and she lectured me as soon as I got home."

Robbie stared at the ground guiltily. "I'm sorry, I probably should've told her myself," he muttered.

"No, no, it's fine!" She touched his hand comfortingly. "My responsibility, not yours. It wasn't your fault at all."

"Oh okay, as long as you didn't get into too much trouble."

"Nope. Not really."

They both stood there awkwardly, each thinking about what had happened last night. Even though they both said that this wouldn't affect their relationship, Robbie couldn't shake the vision of Cat's tan skin out of his head and Cat couldn't forget that she had finally noticed that Robbie was sort of attractive, in a way. "So…where are you going next?" Cat finally asked.

"World History down the hall. I have a paper due today."

"Bummer. Hope that goes well for you! I gotta go, bye!" As soon as she got the words out of her mouth, she zipped around Robbie and ran down the hall towards her Makeup class.

Robbie turned around, watching her go, and sighed while shaking his head. "Can't believe I did that last night," he muttered to himself as he walked away. "I'm so stupid."

* * *

"Hey Andre…" Tori looked at their empty lunch table. "I can't quite put my finger on it, but something seems different."

Andre shrugged. "Beck and Jade are still ignoring each other and things are really awkward between Cat and Robbie right now."

"Did you ever find out what happened between them last night?"

"Oh yeah. Robbie told me before lunch. Took me a lot of begging on my part, but he cracked eventually."

"Really? Tell me!" Tori whined.

Andre snickered and looked around to see if anyone was within hearing distance. "It's something I can't really say aloud."

Tori rolled her eyes. "Okay, you can whisper it in my ear."

Andre cupped his hands around her ear and she gasped. "What?! Of all the people in this school, _they _did _that_ together?"

"True chizz. Robbie said that he didn't mean for it to go that far, but he didn't really have a choice; Lil' Red didn't want him to stop."

"Wow. That explains a lot," Tori said, stunned.

"Yeah, tell me about it. Robbie attempted to blow Cat off all day and when they did talk, it was uncomfortable. The two most innocent people of our group getting involved in something like that…means something weird has been in the air this week," Andre chuckled.

"I'm telling you, it's this stupid horoscope project Sikowitz is making us do!" Tori exclaimed. "It's making everyone go bananas! Jade went to a bar, you got all wonky, and Cat got exposed to…" She made a face and squeezed her eyes shut. "I can't even use her name and that concept in the same sentence!"

"Cat and foreplay?"

"Ew, don't say it out loud!" Tori slapped Andre hard on the shoulder.

"Ow!"

"Can we change the subject?" she pleaded. "I have bigger, more important things on my mind at the moment."

"Is it about Infinity Records calling you today?" Andre shifted in place and leaned towards her in interest.

"Yes." Tori beckoned him to lean closer. "Guess what?"

"Whatty what what?"

She giggled at him. "Very funny. Oliver said Shawn Quincy loved the recording! I get to start making an album soon and then maybe go on a tour starting in July!"

"Oh my god, that's awesome, Tor!" He squeezed her hands in his excitement. "But when are you going to have time to do all of that? And what about the summer?"

"Relax, 'Dre. Studio recordings would take place after school for a couple of hours. And you guys can always come with me on tours and stuff!"

Andre's lips pursed into a frown. "But we have obligations to attend to here as well. I have my job at Yotally Togurt that I can't afford to lose and I'm going to have to babysit my cousins every morning."

Tori slumped in her seat. "But there's always videochat and SplashFace…" she trailed off.

Andre sighed. "It's not the same, Tori. And how do you know that Infinity Records isn't going to take advantage of you like Mason did at the Platinum Music Awards? Morning hours could be added on to afternoon hours and before we know it, you will have dropped out of school to attend high school online and spend all your time at the recording studio."

"That's not going to happen!" Tori exclaimed defensively. "And why are you so against me doing this? I thought you were on my side!"

Andre looked at her with wide eyes. "Whoa, muchacha… Calm the heck down and put down your fork."

She glanced sheepishly up at her hand in front of her, which was aiming her plastic fork at Andre's chest, and put the fork down. "I thought you wanted what's best for me."

"I do want what's best for you, girl… but we don't want you to disappear altogether. We only have a year and a half together and then we go our separate ways." He whispered the last part of the sentence to himself, as if he refused to believe that would actually happen. "And the music business, just like show biz, is a skeevy business. People get taken advantage of and there are always scandals about singers going crazy or getting ripped off. It's a rough world out there."

He looked away from her, deep in thought. "And now that I think about it… remember Hope Quincy, his daughter that I dated a while ago?"

"Yeah, the rich, mean gank that bought you all the fancy clothes and bossed you around all the time."

"Right on. How do you think she got that way?"

Tori looked at him like he was nuts. "Because her dad lavishes her with money and gifts all the time? Because she has everything in the palm of her hand?"

Andre's eyes lit up. "Exactly. She's selfish, rude, and doesn't care what other people think about her. She can do whatever she wants however she wants and she doesn't care who she hurts in the process. How do you know her dad isn't the exact same way?"

Tori opened her mouth to protest but then realized that he could be right. "Good point," she murmured to herself. "So now what do I do?"

She got up from the table to throw her trash away and Andre followed her lead. "I know it sounds like I'm trying to talk you out of it, but this is your decision, not mine. Do what you think is best." She was pleasantly surprised when he suddenly engulfed her into a big hug. "I just want to spend as much time with you as possible, but don't let me stand in the way of what you really want to do."

Tori returned the hug, a sense of guilt forming in her stomach. "Okay, I'll think about it," she said weakly into his shoulder.

"Good." He started to walk away to go inside.

Tori stood in place, pondering what to do next. "And hey." She saw Andre standing just outside the door, just far away enough so she could barely hear him. "Don't fret too much about it; the end of the month is in two weeks." He winked encouragingly at her and then closed the doors shut behind him.

She groaned and sat down at the table again, not caring if she was late to class this time. There was no way she'd be able to focus in class anyway if she was such a mess right now. Her thoughts made her brain hurt as the horoscope's words drifted into her mind. _Everything makes sense now. The whole "third party" thing is Andre and it's talking about me getting ahead of myself about this record deal. I haven't even read the contract yet and I'm already conflicted!_

It took a few more minutes for her to compose herself and convince herself to put this out of her mind until later tonight. "Screw you, stupid stars," she muttered to herself. "Screw you."

* * *

After school ended, Jade headed right back to her house, something she didn't do all that often. Normally she would be hanging out with the rest of the gang or locking herself in the janitor's closet to cut up some more trashcans with her scissors, but she didn't feel like doing any of those things today. She just wanted to go home.

She made herself leftovers from last night's dinner (chicken marsala with mushrooms and spinach) and took it up to her room with a glass of _Wahoo!_ fruit punch. Wasn't her favorite meal in the world, but she took it gratefully knowing that it was probably the only fresh food that would be in the house all week. Good thing her dad's new fiancée could cook; she didn't like her one bit but damn, could she cook great chicken.

She shoved a piece of chicken in her mouth as she turned on _American Horror Story_, her favorite TV show. The episode had just started when the phone on her bedside table rang.

"Hello?" she spat into it, her mouth full of chicken. The irritation built up inside of her like a tidal wave. She had no idea why she was irritated, given that she had wanted to be left alone today and people obeyed her wishes; she just assumed it was a mood swing again, a reoccurrence she was all too familiar with. All she wanted to do was watch TV and have this day be over.

However, what her aunt said on the other side of the phone made her almost do a spit-take. "She WHAT?" she screeched into the phone.

She hung onto her aunt's every word from that point on, nodding occasionally and grunting in agreement. "Okay. Got it. Understood. I'll be there as soon as I can. Thanks for calling, Aunt Judy. I'll see you in a few hours."

Jade shut off the TV and got to work packing a suitcase. She put a few changes of clothes in it along with her makeup, hygiene products, sunglasses, and sunscreen. She also threw in a memento or two because she didn't know when she was going to be able to come back home.

Before she closed her suitcase, she spotted a picture on her nightstand that she had neglected to cut up after the breakup. It was of her and Beck on their one-year anniversary. He was holding her around the waist, her back facing him, and kissing her cheek as they cuddled. She remembered that day perfectly; it was also the day of her fourteenth birthday. He was the only one who bothered to even acknowledge the fact that she was a whole year older. It was also the night she had lost her virginity; she hadn't regretted it since.

Tears welled up in her eyes as she looked at the picture, but she fought them back and stuffed the picture into her suitcase anyway. Now that she knew Beck still liked her, she needed something to believe in.

She just wanted someone to tell her that everything would be okay.

But she couldn't dwell on her own problems right now; her mother and her aunt needed her. So without another thought in her mind, she raced out the door, packed up her car, and started the six-hour drive to Phoenix, Arizona.

* * *

_Oh my goodness, I apologize if this chapter was horrible! I haven't updated in so long that I had to reread the story two times to figure out what to write. Please don't give up on me yet and please review!_


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